Usagi in space...
by Sticks
Summary: It's during the Silver Millennium, and her father decides it is time for Usagi to learn to be a lady. She is then sent to Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy on Yavin 4. Hmm... I wonder what could happen?
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer- Jacen, Jaina, and all associated places and/or characters are registered trademarks of Lucasfilm LTD and Berkley 

Disclaimer-Jacen, Jaina, and all associated places and/or characters are registered trademarks of Lucasfilm LTD and Berkley Jam Books. Usagi and all associated places and/ or characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi and Pioneer. No infringement is intended, so please don't sue!!!!!

Prologue

It was but a few years after the Empire had been abolished, and before the great Jedi academy had been created. Luke wandered the galaxy, searching for something else to do with his life. He was Hero of the Rebellion, or at least that was how his sister, Chief of State Leia Organa Solo, praised him. Luke knew he was simply doing his duty as a Jedi to uphold the peace and honor of the galaxy and Light Side of the Force. 

The bar was noisy and crowded, not the typical place a Jedi liked to be. Aliens argued and gambled in the dark corners of the shadowy place. The bartender, bright blue and insect-like with his many arms and antennae, sloshed a mug of foreign liquor to Luke, saying he looked like he needed a drink. Thanking him, he took a swig of the drink as he heard angry voices. 

"Stop! Please! Stop!" It was a woman's voice, troubled and pleading with two large aliens who had a hold of what appeared to be a black knapsack. 

"Hey." Luke said, getting to his feet and approaching the struggle. 

"What do you want, human?" The one closest to Luke sneered. He was black and hairy, with long, spindly legs and a muzzle, which looked like a trunk. It had four eyes; two in normal positions on the head, two on moveable stalks on top. 

"Let her go." Luke ordered simply. 

The one holding both the woman and the knapsack looked at the Jedi Master and laughed. It was tall and muscular, with an acrid stench emanating from it. Its skin was thick and leathery; pale green mottled with a vicious snout sporting rows of glistening fangs. 

"What are you going to do, human?" It laughed some more, looking between the woman and Luke. The woman was young, Luke noticed, he was probably only a few years older than she. Her hair was blonde, but unlike Luke's gold, it was pale and silvery, reaching below her waist. Her eyes were a bright ocean-blue, but at the moment their beauty was blurred by the look of terror they expressed. 

"I warn you," Luke said, "I am a Jedi. Let the girl go."

This caused the offending creatures to laugh even harder. 

"A Jedi, huh?" The green one said to its companion, 

who snickered. 

"Yes," responded Luke patiently, "And I suggest you let the woman be."

"No can do, Mr. Jedi," the black one growled, "This here lady belongs to us. She is the bounty of a very rich king in a separate galaxy. Our instructions were simple; find her, and bring her to him." 

Luke concentrated, feeling the power of the Force running throughout his body, infusing him with its strength. His entire body tingled with the energy, and he saw the aliens, _felt_ them, and using the Force, let his thoughts move them. Far. As he turned his attention to the girl, the two aliens were forced backward, tumbling, falling on one another. 

The woman was shaking, understandably afraid. She eyed him warily, throwing her glance between both him and the aliens that had been thrown against the opposite wall. They lay there, unconscious, in a heap. 

"I'm not going to hurt you." Luke said gently, "I'm here to help. My name is Luke," he added, as he helped her to her feet. 

"I am Selene," she responded. "Those men, they have been following me throughout the galaxy. Thank you," she said, a small smile stretching across her face. 

"Please, come with me. Perhaps I can help." He offered her his hand, which she accepted. Dodging angry looks from the bartender, they walked outside into the night. Luke had a ship outside, and they boarded. He powered up the computers, and the craft flew off into space. 

"I have a small place on Coruscant, if you would like to stay there a couple days. It would be an honor," he added, taking notice of the disturbed look upon her porcelain features. 

"Yes, thank you, sir." 

"Please, call me Luke. Now, why are those two after you?" he asked.

She sighed heavily, twisting her hands in her lap and avoided his eyes. 

"It is my father," she said at last, finally bringing her ocean-blue eyes to Luke's ice blue ones. He nodded sympathetically, motioning for her to continue. Selene paused, as if finding the words was a difficult task. 

"He is the King those two creatures mentioned. He wishes for me to marry, and I have no desire to," she paused, watching him closely. "I am a princess, and his only daughter. To him, it is a princess's duty to marry and bear heirs, no matter what she thinks." She spat bitterly, her expressive eyes glittering with malice. 

"I took matters into my own hands and ran away. And I'm not going back," she said firmly to Luke, who suppressed silent laughter. This woman had the same fiery disposition and headstrong will of his sister, Leia. Perhaps it had to do with being a princess. 

"I won't make you go back, Selene, but you seem out of touch with reality. Just how many times have you been on your own?" asked Luke. 

"Counting this time? Once." She said sheepishly. Luke groaned inwardly. Just how many times would he be responsible for a clueless princess?

From there things moved on. Selene went to live for a few months with Luke on Coruscant, where she met Leia and her husband, Han Solo. Leia understood her situation perfectly, as only another princess could. They became quite good friends. And as for her and Luke...

"Selene," he said one day, after months of living together, "I think I'm falling in love with you." He watched the silver haired princess warmly, as she stared back, a mixture of sadness and affection in her eyes. She bit her lip. 

"I love you too, Luke, but nothing can ever come of this." She said, sadness too deep for Luke to bear in her voice. 

"Why, Selene?" disbelief marred his face. What was she saying?

"I received a letter today, Luke. My father is going to war with Apollo's kingdom, and it's over me." Tears coursed slowly down her face as she faced him. 

"I can't be responsible for a war, Luke. I must go back. Father was right, it is my duty." Her tone was so sad it wrenched his heart as he watched her, the only woman he had ever loved, slip away.

"I've arranged for a ship to pick me up. It will be here in a few minutes. My things are already packed. Good bye, Luke. I'm sorry," she said softly, as the tears poured from her eyes. Luke realized that he, too, had tears in his eyes when she reached up and gently brushed them away with soft fingertips. He clasped her hand in his, kissed it, and watched her leave. Moments later the ship had come, and she had left. Gone.


	2. One

It was midmorning when the girl came in

It was midmorning when the girl came in. Her golden hair was disheveled, and dirt was splattered across her white dress, but there was a sparkle to her eye her mother had never seen there before. The girl danced around the marble palace floors, rejoicing in the cool feel of the stone and in the joy of life.

"Usagi, darling, is that you?" Selene had not seen her daughter for the past week; she had gone on a trip to the Earth with the Senshi. Only she had received a message from Mercury saying that Usagi had never shown. It was like her daughter to run off alone exploring, for as a princess she was normally confined to the reaches of the palace. 

"Mother?"Usagi asked, a bit sheepishly. She knew her mother knew that she hadn't been with the Senshi. For the first time in her life, Usagi had felt complete freedom when she was on Earth. All her life, she had lived on the moon, unable to go anywhere or be a normal teenager. 

Just then, an ear-splitting roar echoed through the ornately decorated halls. 

_"Is that Usagi, Selene?! Tell her I want to see her NOW!!!!" _

_ _

"You heard your father, Usagi." Selenity watched her daughter tremble and turn pale. There was much tension between the King, Apollo, and his daughter. She remembered a time not so long ago, when she and Usagi had disagreed concerning Apollo. 

_The King had been ill, taken abed with a fever and head cold. Usagi was but thirteen, yet she had sensed long ago the King's feelings regarding her. _

_ _

__

_"Why don't you make your father a get well card? I'm sure he'd appreciate it, Usako." Selenity had said, and the look of cold indifference she had received chilled her to the bone. _

_ _

_"No, he wouldn't. Why bother?" The young girl's normally warm and bright blue eyes were icy, and her tone was so cold it sent shivers through the Queen. _

_ _

_"But he loves you."_

_ _

_"No, he doesn't. He loves you. I was the mistake that never should have happened."_

_ _

_"Do you really think that, Usagi?" Selene was shocked._

_ _

_"I don't think so, Mother, I know so." With those last words, Usagi turned and left the room. _

_ _

Now, three years later, Selenity had not noticed any difference in the manner of the princess regarding her father. Apollo, too, spoke of his daughter only fleetingly, when absolutely necessary. Selene didn't think he would have acknowledged her at all if it hadn't been for Selene's insistence and public appearance. The populace of the Silver Millennium didn't want a man on their throne who was not civil with his heir, and Usagi was Apollo's only bloodline heir.

With a sigh, Usagi turned from the airy palace room and her mother's face to the darkened pathways that led to Apollo's chambers. Shadows stretched across the marble floor, filling her with dread. There was no way to know what her father would have in store for her. 

"_Usagi..._" Apollo's voice was low and warning, full of menace. 

It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the gloom of Apollo's chambers, but when they did, Usagi bowed slightly in the King's direction out of polite respect. Her personal feelings for the man did not matter. 

"Where have you been this past week, Usagi?" inquired Apollo. 

"Earth, sir." She drew herself up tall, or as tall as her petite 4-foot-8-inch frame would allow. Her chin stuck out defiantly, and her hair cascaded behind her in a river of gold. 

Apollo, aging, wizened, his youth leaving him, set his sallow skin in a snarl as he appraised his daughter. 

"Do not get an attitude with me, girl. You weren't with the Senshi. Why." 

His question was more an order than a statement, and Usagi trembled slightly. 

"Freedom, sir." She preferred to keep her responses short when talking with Apollo, for she never knew how he would react. His snarl deepened as he pushed one of his remaining strands of hair behind a tanned ear. 

"You want freedom, girl? You, the crown princess of the Silver Millennium, ask for freedom?" He laughed, cruel, condescending laughter. "People _kill_ to be in the position you are in, girl, and you ask for freedom?" 

He continued, an amused smile on his features. 

"It's not a woman's place to be free, girl. A woman is to marry, be a good wife, and bear heirs. A husband doesn't want a headstrong upstart for a wife, but a sensible, obedient, beautiful lady. And it's high time you learned to be a lady."

What little color that had been in Usagi's cheeks faded and drained from her face as she processed what Apollo had said. _It's high time you learned to be a lady..._ Fear gripped her, fear of the future and of destiny. 

"Yes, girl. There is a school, far away from the Silver Millennium, in a separate galaxy. I have arranged for you to be sent there, to learn what you will. But," he paused, leaning over to his daughter, "on your twenty-first birthday, a messenger will be sent to the school to prepare you for marriage to a suitable suitor of my choosing.

"Now then, girl, your shuttle leaves in two hours. I suggest you pack." Apollo turned away, signifying the meeting done and Usagi dismissed. 

Seething with anger, Usagi stalked down the halls to her own chambers. She flung open the doors, stomped across the floor, and sank, crying hopelessly, on her bed. 

"Leaving." she thought sadly, "I am leaving. And when I return, I will be another man's fiancé." Sobbing softly, she removed from the folds of her dress a golden star-shaped locket, and opened its case. Inside, a crescent moon revolved around a ruby-red jewel while a beautiful melody played. 

"Oh, Endymion," she said, "Will I ever see you again?" 

Hours later, a very subdued princess sat on a shuttle, leaving the only home she had ever known. Her mother had tearfully bid her farewell, saying it was all for the best, and that she would miss her terribly. Her father had declined to see her off, sending a message that she was to behave and uphold the family honor. She was representing her family and their kingdom, and was to conduct herself as a proper princess.

She sighed. It was to be a long, boring ride with none but her, her luggage, and the wrinkled old pilot of the school she was to attend. He didn't talk much, and she didn't engage him in conversation, either. Instead, Usagi amused herself with the locket Endymion had given her on their last night together on Earth.

Its sweet melody played over and over again as all the familiar sights of the Milky Way galaxy passed by her window in a blur of light. 

"You'll enjoy yourself at Master Luke's Academy, princess." Old Peckhum said to his young charge, whom was completely immersed in her own thoughts and memories. 

_Enthralled by her newfound freedom, Usagi danced around the gardens of Elysian. Her long white gown swirled around her, accenting her movements. In the shadow of a giant tree, a tall young man with midnight-black hair and dark blue eyes clad in the attire of a prince watched her with fascination. Beside him stood a smaller boy, wearing the white and blue robes of a priest. His hair was white, with a small, golden horn protruding from his forehead. Together, they watched Usagi as she twirled around the white marble fountain, skipping along the stones and laughing with the sheer joy of life. _

_ _

_"Who is she, Helios?" The dark-haired boy asked of his companion, completely enchanted. _

_ _

_"I don't know, my prince. A foreigner, possibly, or one of the noblemen's daughters." _

_ _

_The prince walked forward, so close to Usagi they were almost touching, but she still had not noticed him. In fact, she was leaping along the edge of the fountain, throwing bread crumbs to the goldfish. _

_ _

_"Excuse me, miss," caught completely off guard, Usagi whirled around to face the prince, but lost her balance and fell into the water. He leaned over to try and pull her out, but she pulled away from him and he fell in himself. _

_ _

_Laughing, they climbed out of the fountain and strolled peacefully to a bench on the far side of the garden, in a grove of roses. The sweet perfume filled the air, and it was so beautiful Usagi felt as if she could lose herself in the atmosphere and in the gorgeous man before her. _

_ _

_"Hello. My name is Endymion," he said, locking his dark eyes to Usagi's own._

__

_"I-I'm Usagi," she stammered. Her heart was beating wildly, and she was afraid of those eyes, those gorgeous blue eyes that she could immerse herself in and never return to reality from. _

_ _

_"Glad you like my garden." With a wave of his arm, he indicated the paths she had danced in and the fountain where they had fallen in. _

_ _

_"I wish he'd stop looking at me like that." Usagi thought, "I bet my hair's a mess, and my gown is soaked."_

_ _

_"What brings you to Elysian, Usagi?" She fidgeted a little, toying with a strand of her golden hair. Her characteristic odangos were falling, and absent-mindedly she quickly undid them, letting her hair cascade around her shoulders. _

_ _

_"Well, I'm here on vacation. I live on the Moon." She said. _

_ _

_"I would be honored if you would stay with me in the palace, Usagi." He said, grasping her smooth hand. _

_ _

_"Arigato, Endymion." _

_ _

_"The pleasure's mine. I want you to meet a friend of mine," he indicated Helios, "This is Helios, my good friend and keeper of the golden crystal of dreams. Helios, meet Usagi."_

_ _

_"It is my pleasure, prince, Miss Usagi." _

_Usagi stopped suddenly. _

_ _

_"Prince?" she asked Endymion. He smiled, flashing those brilliant white, gorgeous teeth of his, and laughed. _

_ _

_"Of course. I am Prince Endymion, of Earth." He pointed at the crescent moon on her forehead,_

_"And I don't think you're all you say you are."_

_ _

_It was Usagi's turn to laugh. _

_"No, I suppose not. I am Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom, but since I am here on vacation, it is Usagi." She smiled at him, and he smiled back. Oh, he was handsome. _

_Together, the three of them turned and headed to the palace of Earth, where she stayed until she returned to the Moon and her mother. _

"Ten minutes till landing." Peckhum's voice snapped Usagi out of her reverie. 

"Ten minutes," Usagi thought bitterly, "ten minutes until my life is over."Gently, lovingly, she shut the case of the locket, abruptly ending the soft music. She caressed its smooth, golden surface for a moment, then tucked it safely back within the folds of her dress. Absently, she looked at her gown. Long, white, flowing, sickeningly princess-like. 

"I would give _anything_ to be a normal girl," she thought, "without the responsibility, the worry, the entrapment..." she sighed. "I'm not even free to decide how I wear my hair, much less who and when I marry." 

Peckhum glanced back at Usagi, who was completely lost in her thoughts. Her gaze was fastened to the window, watching the stars fly by. He activated the landing mechanisms, letting the navicomputer guide the ship through the atmosphere of Yavin 4 and land gently. Dust flew up around the craft, encasing it in clouds of brown dirt. Watching through the window, Usagi could see a giant temple, older perhaps than anything she had yet seen. In the distance, she could see the beginnings of a vast green jungle, lush with tropical plants. 

"Here we are, princess." Peckhum said lightly, as the girl appraised him coolly with ocean-blue eyes, then stood. 

The entrance hatch opened, revealing a tall man with golden blonde hair and pale blue eyes, smiling at her warmly. 

"Hajimemashite, Tsukino Usagi-hime." He said, bowing slightly in Japanese custom. Obviously he had taken a great deal of effort in learning some about their culture. He had even properly pronounced the greeting, which must have felt strange to his foreign tongue. 

"Konban wa. Who are you?" Usagi responded politely, watching the man with mild interest. 

"My name is Luke Skywalker. This is my Jedi Academy," he gestured with his arm at the stone temple behind him. "Welcome." She bit her lip, anxiously running her fingers along the smooth gold chain of the locket, which hung, around her neck and under her dress. 

Luke watched the girl, and sensed longing from deep within her. The look in her eye worried him; it was the feral, desperate look of a caged animal. He would have to watch this student closely, for such desperation was a lure to the Dark Side, who used the Force for evil and personal gain. 

Serena saw him as he studied her, and she felt a twinge of anxiety. What was he thinking? What if she wasn't fit for his academy? Would he send her back home? Would she see Endymion again? 

As he studied her ivory features and golden hair, realization dawned upon Luke Skywalker. As soon as she brought her expressive ocean-blue eyes to his, he knew. Those were eyes he remembered; eyes he had loved. 

"This can only be Selene's child," he thought. A feeling of dread washed over him as all his senses and the power of the Force tingled with recognition. "_My_ child." 

Peckhum watched him, a look of concern and curiosity in his eyes. Ignoring the wizened shuttle pilot, Luke courteously grabbed Serena's knapsack, blocking out the surge of emotions coursing through him. Love, of Selene and their child, hate of his ignorance and the long ago day she had left, and the feeling of protectiveness that overwhelmed him when he looked at the girl who was his daughter.

"Arigato, Skywalker- senpai." Luke managed a small smile, as Serena fixed him with a gaze he knew all too well. It was the same cool, understanding look her mother had given him many times. 

"Hey, Luke!" Han Solo had just stepped off the _Millennium Falcon_ with his friend, Chewbacca the Wookiee. When he caught sight of Usagi, though, the lopsided grin disappeared and he stopped dead. 

He stared hard at the golden-haired moon princess, his gaze flickering between her and the Jedi Master, before staring Luke in the eyes. He nodded softly, before beckoning Usagi to follow him inside the Great Temple. 

Meanwhile, the twins Jaina and Jacen had followed their father off the freighter and witnessed the entire scene. They exchanged confused glances, before looking at their friends Lowbacca the Wookiee, who was Chewie's nephew, and Tenel Ka, the warrior girl from Dathomir. Both had emerged from the sleek craft soon after the twins, and were just as confused by Han's and Luke's reactions to the new student as Jacen and Jaina.

"What was that all about?" Jaina asked quietly. 

Inside, Luke was showing Usagi around the academy. He had met her but an hour ago, and already the feelings of paternal fondness were growing inside him. He could tell she wasn't truly interested in anything he was saying, she was obviously preoccupied. It wasn't until he reached the Main Audience Chamber at the top of the temple that she shown any interest at all. The old carvings engraved in the walls fascinated her. 

"This looks almost like the carvings on Earth..." she murmured, running her fingers along the cool stone. Yet as soon as she touched the wall, she felt her consciousness slip away from her, as if in a dream...

_FLASH! _

_ _

_A woman, silver-haired, wearing a white gown screamed, begging for mercy, but Usagi could not see her face. A man, tall, masked, was behind her, grabbed her roughly and spun her around. A glint of metal..._

_ _

_FLASH!_

_ _

__She was back, back... Luke was watching her concernedly, as her consciousness began to return and she realized where she was. Luke's academy... She was in Luke's academy... She realized she was breathing heavily, and a tear was in her eye. Hastily, she wiped it away, feeling Luke's ice-blue eyes peering into her own. 

"Usagi? Usagi? Are you okay?" She realized he had a hold of her shoulders; she was shaking. Shaking badly from the look on his face. 

"I-I'm fine," she stammered, her breathing slowly returning to normal as she looked around. 

"I probably shouldn't say anything," she thought to herself, "he'll only think I'm a nutcase."

"Do you need to see the medical droid?" Luke asked, "if you're unwell..." Serena met his concerned gaze with her own, ignoring the confusion and the vision and replacing it with her inner strength and will. 

"No." She said, "I am fine. It must have been the long journey on the shuttle. I have never been this far from the palace before." 

Luke watched her with concern, noting that she fingered the chain of Endymion's locket when she spoke. Obviously the pendant had special meaning to the girl. 

"Perhaps you should rest then. I'll have a student show you to your room." 

Meanwhile, Jacen, Jaina, and their friends Tenel Ka and Lowbacca the Wookiee had emerged from outside to the entrance hall, conversing amongst themselves. 

"Jaina!" Luke said, harnessing his niece's attention. She turned, saw Usagi, and looked at her uncle with a question in her eyes. Ignoring Jaina's curiosity, he motioned her to him. Obediently she followed, still as confused as ever she was. 

"Please, show Usagi to your chambers," he turned to the blonde beside him, who was still reeling from her experience, "Jaina is my niece. You and she will be roommates, due to the large amount of students this semester." With a silent nod of thanks, Serena retrieved her bag and followed Jaina through the halls. 

"So you're new here, huh?" Jaina said, eager for conversation with the strangely dressed foreigner. The princess responded with only a faint nod of her head, still completely immersed in her vision, if it was a vision at all. 

"I wonder what it could mean?" She thought. "Mars is usually the one to have visions. I don't have any special psychic powers. I'm just the pretty little princess who has a talent for singing."

"Hey?" Jaina said, interrupting Usagi's thoughts. 

"My name's Jaina. Who are you?" 

Usagi turned to her, as if noticing her for the first time. 

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was thinking..." She smiled at the young Jedi Knight, "My name is Usagi." 

"After you've had your rest, I'll take you to meet my brother and our friends." Jaina said, smiling at her new roommate. 

"Thank you. I would really like that," Usagi said, feeling the happiest she had felt since she had left Endymion's palace on Earth. 

As she seated herself on the bed closest to the window, Serena heard a muffled meow from her bag. Utterly surprised, she jumped as her breath caught in her throat. Grabbing the knapsack, she undid the laces and snaps to reveal a very unhappy, tousled-looking black cat. A golden crescent moon shone on its ebony forehead, much like the one shone on Usagi's. 

"Luna!" gasped the golden-haired Jedi student in surprise. The black cat responded by blowing a stream of fluff from the knapsack out its mouth, covering Usagi. 

"It is very uncomfortable in there, Usagi. Stifling hot," the feline said in the proper voice of a Guardian. 

"What were you doing in there?" Serena was shocked to find her Guardian, her mother's Advisor, Luna the talking black cat, stowed away inside her knapsack. The cat rolled her cinnamon-colored eyes in exasperation.

"Do you really think I'm going to let you, the princess, go off alone to foreign space far from the Senshi and the power of the Ginzuishou?"

Serena smiled wryly. "I'm not as helpless as you think, Luna. I still have the Moon Prism." 

Luna snorted. "A fat lot of good that'll do you in a one-on-one battle with a youma. Have you forgotten there are no Senshi here to protect you?" 

Anger quickly welled up inside Usagi as she said in an ice-cold voice, "I do not require so much _protection_, Luna. I am sixteen years old, I am not a child."

"I forgot," the cat said slyly, with anger and frustration equaling the girl's, "you are a _lady_ now, capable of marriage." She said, emphasizing the word 'lady'. The furious glare she received sent cold shivers through her as she realized she had said the wrong thing. 

"Don't even _go_ there, Luna!" Usagi snarled, whirling upon the cat with fury enough to make her shrink back against the sheer force of the princess's wrath. 

"Is everything all right in here?" Drawn by the shouts and anger in the room, Luke softly opened the door to see the cat sitting on the pillow, and Usagi pacing the room, squeezing the knapsack until her knuckles turned white.

Taking a few breaths, she laid the bag upon the bed beside Luna, straightened, and smiled at the Jedi Master. 

"She covers her emotions well," he thought, "she has been well trained in the art of queen-craft."

"I'm fine, thank you, Master Skywalker. I was a bit surprised to find my Guardian hidden inside my knapsack." She shot a reproving glance at Luna, who responded with a lazy feline shrug and stretched herself on the pillow.

"I know that cat," Luke thought, as he watched Luna toy with an absent thread on the pillow. "That's Selene's talking cat. The one who wouldn't let me anywhere near her," he thought with a wry grin. 

As if she had just noticed the Jedi Master, Luna sat up and stared at him as recognition dawned in her furry face. 

"That's Queen Selenity's old lover... Usagi's birth father... Why did she send Usagi here, knowing that he ran the school?" she asked herself. In his mind, Luke was pondering the same question. 

Meanwhile, Usagi was getting annoyed by all the furtive glances around her. It was as if something was going on, something that involved her, but no one would say a thing. They knew something all right, but no one would tell her what was going on. She would have to figure it out for herself, much as she would have to figure out the meaning of that vision alone. Jaina and her friends already thought she was strange, no need for them to think she was insane, too. No, she would do this alone. 

"Usagi?" Luke asked, as she gave him the cool stare he knew so well. It was exactly the one he saw in the mirror, but with eyes darker blue. It was the stare that meant 'I'm listening, but I couldn't care less what you're saying. I have other things to think about.' He laughed inwardly. So this was what Leia meant about him listening to and ignoring her at the same time. He was seeing it in the features of his daughter. 

"Usagi? It's time for evening meal. Why don't you bring Luna downstairs and get something to eat." 

She nodded, gathering the black cat in her arms and carrying her downstairs. She was in the entrance hall before she realized exactly what Luke had said. 

"I didn't tell him that my Guardian's name was Luna..." She said quietly, questioningly. "Something's being kept from me, and I don't like it at all."

From her place in the moon princess's arms, Luna emitted a small meow. This would brew trouble, she knew, for all those who knew the secret. 

"Hey, Usagi! Come sit with us!" It was Jaina, sitting at a table with a boy Usagi did not know, but who looked a lot like Jaina, with his brown eyes and hair. 

"He must be her brother," she thought. Also with her roommate was a young ginger-furred Wookiee, and another girl with long red-gold hair done in ornate braids. 

After she had received her food, Usagi carried her tray to the table where Jaina, Jacen, and their friends sat. Luna followed behind, tail held high in the air as she pranced behind her princess. Nimbly, she leapt onto the bench beside Usagi as she sat down, white gown tucked neatly underneath her before billowing at her ankles. 

"My, what strange clothes you have, Mistress Usagi." Said Em-Teedee, the small translating droid who hung at Lowie's waist. The ginger-furred Wookiee gave a small growl of reprimand, but Usagi laughed. A clear, melodious sound that brought joy to all who heard it. It was the first time she had laughed in weeks. _"_Since," she thought, "I left Mamo-chan's palace." She stopped. "_Mamo-chan?! Did I just call him Mamo-chan?! That means..."_ She giggled aloud. 

"Hey, what's so funny?" Jacen, who hated to be left out of _any_ joke, good _or_ bad, said. Usagi giggled some more, before wiping a hand to her eye. 

"Nothing." She said, still grinning. "And, by the way, I know my clothes are strange. I don't like wearing them, either." She smiled softly, remembering all the other things she had no choice about. As sadness overcame her once more, Usagi willed herself to stop thinking of what she was forced to do. It only led to painful thoughts of Endymion. 

At that moment, Lowie emitted a series of short woofs, watching the princess kindly. Em-Teedee translated-

"Master Lowbacca says he is curious as to where you come from, Mistress Usagi, and I must say, I would like to know as well."

Usagi laughed again, quieter, softer this time. 

"Me? I come from a galaxy far away from yours, in a Kingdom known as the Silver Millennium. My mother, Selene, rules over it with my-" she paused, as if simply saying the name was a cause of anger and pain, "father, Apollo. I am Crown Princess and only heir to the kingdom. 

Needless to say, I don't get out very much." She added. 

"Hey, Tenel Ka's a princess, too. She's from the Hapes Cluster..." Jacen was broken off by a wave of the warrior girl's hand.

"Let Usagi tell her story, friend Jacen." Taken aback from the gentle reprimand, Jacen quieted as Usagi began speaking. 

"So you want my story, huh?" She asked to the eager, interested faces around her. Even Em-Teedee's sensors were fastened to the moon princess. Luna shot her a reproving glare, which Usagi ignored. If they were to be friends, there shouldn't be such secrets kept. 

"My story..." Usagi said thoughtfully, "There really isn't much to tell. My mother, Queen Selenity, married a man named Apollo when she was very young. Supposedly there was a big fiasco involved with the marriage, something about a war between Grandpa's and Father's kingdoms, but you can't rely much on court gossip." She said, the small group unaware that Luke was listening very closely to catch every word. 

"As far as I can tell, they have been happy together. But then, I really haven't paid attention much,"

Lowie emitted a short, curious woof which Em-Teedee didn't bother to translate. 

"Well," Serena said, "let's just say my father and I don't get along very well. He's not very fond of me, and the feeling's mutual. Mother is oblivious to the entire thing, and has been for as long as I can remember. 

"To say it frankly, as Mother's heir I'm not really allowed to go anywhere and never have been. But, a few weeks ago, I managed to sneak away to the planet which our moon orbits. It is called Earth." She stroked the golden chain of the star locket as she spoke. 

"That sounds like something Jacen or I would do," Jaina said with a laugh. "Was it the first time you had been out anywhere?" 

Usagi nodded softly. "Yes. Even in Mother's palace, there are numerous guards, and the supreme warriors known as the Senshi. They are the guardians of our Milky Way galaxy, princesses of the planets of our solar system, but at the same time warriors pledged in service to my mother and our kingdom. 

"They are Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, and Pluto. Mercury, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter live on the Moon, in Mother's palace. Uranus and Neptune guard the outer reaches of the galaxy from invasion with Saturn, and Pluto is the Mistress of Time." She paused, watching the faces rapt with attention all around. Many other new trainees had abandoned their conversations to listen to the tale of the strange new princess in their midst. Usagi smiled and continued, 

"Saturn's powers are great and terrible. She is the Senshi of death and rebirth, guarded by the planet of silence. The power held in her Silence Scythe is enough to destroy an entire planet into rubble within minutes." Serena took a breath,

"Yet if Saturn was ever to unleash the deadly power she wields, she would die. My mother's Imperium Silver Crystal, or the Ginzuishou, is the only known power that could prevent Saturn's death if she so chose. It is the greatest known power in the Universe, which is why the Senshi follow her. The power of the Ginzuishou can only be released by one of the royal blood, or if its keeper decreed that another should wield it." She said, and a small smile crept across her face. 

"On Earth, I was free for the first time. I had told my mother I was to be with the Inner Senshi, but of course I wasn't. I was alone, able to wear what I pleased, eat what I pleased, talk to who I pleased... In other words, enjoy the freedoms that most take for granted."

Jacen shook his head. "My mother would kill me if I did something like that." Jaina nodded vehemently. 

"I didn't get out of trouble, now. As soon as I returned, my father, thoroughly angry, of course, decided it was time I learned to be a lady. Therefore, I was sent here until my twenty-first birthday. Upon which," she snarled, "an advisor of my _beloved_ father will come for me to prepare me for a marriage which I have neither choice nor say in." 

Luke's eyes widened. He had not known what was in store for Usagi come her twenty-first birthday. He had known that she was to leave, but he had not known why. 

Her situation was, he realized, quite like the one her mother had faced when he had met her. 

"I wonder why Selene would allow her daughter to be treated this way by Apollo. She had hated being thrown into a marriage, why was she allowing Usagi to do the same?" He thought, completely puzzled. It made no sense. Unless...

Of course! That was it! Selene had sent Usagi to him knowing he would recognize her instantly. She was counting on him helping their daughter as he had tried to do her. By training her as a Jedi and somehow annulling the wedding-to-be. 

"Selene," Luke said quietly so none could hear, "I will try. In the name of the love we had, I promise I will try."

Far off, in the Moon Kingdom's palace, Selene paced her chambers as restlessly as a panther. Her silver hair swept behind her as she silently crossed to the window to watch the processions of the party happening outside. Couples were dancing, or relaxing together under the shade of the beautifully blossomed cherry trees. Like she and Luke should have been able to do...

"Oh, Luke, love. I'm sorry for the way things turned out. I hope you will love our child as you once loved me. You deserve to see her, to be near her, to know the wonderful young woman she has become. I owe you that." She sighed as fireworks exploded in the dark night sky.

"And I hope you can do more for her than you could for me, my love."

That night, Serena was sitting on her bed, staring out the window into the jungles of Yavin 4. The climate was so pleasing, there was no need for glass. The breeze swept through the room, heavily perfumed with jungle scents. 

Wistfully, almost longingly, she stared out into the vast expanse of space which stretched over the moon like a snug blanket. A small brush in hand, she was smoothing the tangles from her ankle length golden hair, while Jaina lay half asleep on the other side of the room. 

"Usagi?" she said sleepily.

"Yes, Jaina?" 

"I'm glad you came."Usagi smiled into the darkness. She had found a friend. 

"I'm glad I came, too, Jaina. Very glad." She set the brush on her nightstand and crawled beneath the covers. By the time Luna had leapt up to lie beside her, she was already asleep, the star locket playing its tune in the background. 

On Earth, Endymion was as restless and agitated as Selene. He stalked around the garden where he had met Usagi, wondering if he would ever see his Usa-chan again. He stopped suddenly. "I just thought of Usagi as Usa-chan... I wonder if she thinks the same of me? After all, we were together only a month before she left to rejoin the Moon Kingdom..." He sighed. Already, he had become so completely attached to the blue-eyed princess who he was certain had stolen his heart.

He knew now why he had given her the star locket. His mother had given it to him, saying that one day he would meet the person whom he would know to give it to. The person who would be his soulmate...

It had been an impulsive decision, really, but the more he thought about it, the more he knew his mother had been right. He had _felt_ that the locket should be given to Usagi, and he had felt that it belonged with her ever since. Now he couldn't get the moon princess out of his head. 

He had heard, through the gossip chain, that Usagi had been sent to a school in another galaxy. That had been over four years ago, almost five. 

"How often does she think of me?" he wondered, "I can't stop thinking about her."

Usagi had been at Luke's academy for over four years now. She had become very close to Jaina and her friends, but she and her roommate were inseparable. She thought very little of the Moon Kingdom and her mother, but still greatly of the young man who was Earth's prince. Endymion. He had given her that splendid star locket, and it had become her most prized possession. 

"Usako!" Jaina called, exasperation showing on her features. "You've already missed morning meal! You're going to be late for class!"

"Iie! I can't be late!!!" Usagi squealed, running through the open door and rocketing past Jaina, who was watching her roommate with a smirk. "Tionne will kill me if I'm late again!!"

"You should have gotten up earlier. Oh, Usako," Jaina said, laughing, "you forgot your shoe." The moon princess skidded to a halt at the top of the stairs, tripped on a burgundy rug, and rolled down the stairs. At the base, Jacen, Tenel Ka, and Lowie were waiting for their friends when they saw Usagi rolling down the stone steps. 

Jaina rolled her eyes, Tenel Ka politely acted as if she had taken no notice, and Jacen hid a laugh. Lowie chuffed a little as Usagi stood up, attempting futilely to regain her dignity. 

"Oh, man, now my hair's a complete mess and I have dirt all over my jumpsuit, with five minutes to get to class, and looking forward to detention if I'm late again. This has been a _perfect_ morning." she sulked, as Jaina handed her her sandal. 

"Here's your shoe," she said innocently, receiving an instant sulky glare. Jacen laughed.

"It doesn't look as if Sere's in a very good mood, sis." 

Lowie nodded in agreement, grinning. 

Usagi, meanwhile, was fighting trying to reassemble the odangos in her columns of hair. 

"I-am-cutting-it-off-as-soon-as-I-get-the-chance!" She said through gritted teeth. 

"Why?" asked Jaina, grinning.

Usagi shot her a 'look', and said, "My hair is taller than I am!"

"That doesn't take very much..." Jacen said softly. 

Usagi marched her four-foot-eight-inch frame up to Jacen and lifted her deep ocean-blue eyes to his brown, and said, "Don't make me come up there."

They all laughed, Jacen especially. "I wouldn't dream of it, Usako."

"I should think not." Was the princess's prim reply, before grabbing her black knapsack and leaving to class. 

"Master Jacen, if she was the late one, why are we still waiting here?" Em-Teedee asked. Lowie woofed. 

"Right. What are we waiting for?" Jaina said. 

Far off from the reaches of the light and loving Universe, in the darkest corners of imagination, reigned the Negaverse. Pure evil was home here, more, darker evil than the Dark Side of the Force could ever dream to be. The Dark Side held warriors from the Negaverse, and the Dark Jedi fought for their Darker upperlings in the Dark hierarchy. 

Here, Beryl reigned. Queen of the Darkness, ruler of the powerful Negaforce. Long had she watched the Light Side Jedi, and hated them. Long had she hated the love which radiated from their Universe, hated that miserable Queen Selenity of the Moon Kingdom who had blocked her from the world of light with her Ginzuishou. But now...

The barrier which confined the Dark Queen to her realm of evil was weakening, had weakened enough to allow her escape. Queen Selenity would rue the day she had imprisoned her, mighty Queen Beryl, in the Dark Negaverse. Now, she would pay. 

"Jedite!" She roared. At once, a blonde warrior approached her side. The first of her grand generals. 

"Yes, my Queen?" Beryl watched him coldly with eyes that held no love, no pity, no mercy. 

"There is a Jedi, Jedite. A powerful new Dark Jedi. He is training under Brakiss at our Shadow Academy. His name is Zekk. Bring him to me."

"But Palpatine, my Queen..."

"Don't question my orders, Jedite! Palpatine is a fool, a loyal servant of mine, just as you. All you must do is leave the portal and bring the Jedi to me. I have business to settle with Queen Selenity."

"Yes, my Queen." Jedite turned and left, leaving through the portal that connected the Negaverse to the Universe.


	3. Two

Hey everyone

Hey everyone! Thank you all so much for your reviews!!! It's what keeps me writing, makes me feel loved...Anyways, I had written this part a while ago, but had had some problems uploading it. Well, here it is!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or Star Wars, or any related material. Only the plot, however good or bad it may be, is mine. (As if you didn't know! Really, if I owned the millions of dollars for such superb characters , do you think I'd be writing fanfiction?!!) SM belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and Pioneer. SW and all related instances belong to George Lucas and Berkley Jam Books. Thank you.

Usagi sat in class, mind intent on concentration as she felt the power of the Force singing through her. Tionne, Luke's assistant and a powerful Jedi Knight, was instructing the class on a Jedi's method of memory retrieval. A Jedi could retrieve memories of the long ago past by concentrating using the Force.

She was curious as to which memories to try and retrieve, when a thought struck her. If her mother had indeed been scandalous when she was a baby, she would have seen it, wouldn't she? She could retrieve her memories as a baby, find out what really happened all those years ago...

_Flash!_

She felt cool, damp air rushing over her, the sound of voices screaming, crying, pounding in her ears. Her vision was dim, her hearing the same, but she could hear, and she could _sense_. Sense as she did now using the Force. 

"You damned whore! You ran away, sent your father's country and mine to war, and had a baby with some cracked up bastard in another galaxy..."

"I am not a whore, Apollo! And Luke isn't a cracked up bastard! I don't love you, and I never will! I didn't want to marry you, but I had no choice."

"I should kill that little fatherless bitch and strip you of your crown for such adultery..."

"You cannot, Apollo! Leave Usagi out of this!"

"Keep the bitch. But keep her away from me, Selene, or I swear I will have her killed."

"Apollo!"

_Flash!_

_ _

Serena was shaking, shaking as badly as she had the day she had first come to the Jedi academy. Apollo wasn't her father... No wonder he had always hated her! He didn't simply hate her, but he hated Luke, too! Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master, was her father! So that was why he had looked at her so strangely that first day! And Han too! He had known as well! They all knew; her mother, Luna, Luke, Han, probably Leia too and no one had ever told her! She was trembling with fury and self-hate and a feeling of such wretchedness she thought she should never be happy again.

"Serena!" Jaina... It was Jaina yelling at her... "Jaina, my cousin," she thought bitterly. 

"Get Uncle Luke!" Jacen said, but Usagi was dimly aware, so focused was she on the rage boiling inside of her, consuming her, making her tremble and shake with suppressed anger. 

Luke Skywalker came running through the halls and into the classroom at the shouts. As soon as Usagi turned her deep blue eyes to his, eyes that were now filled with fury and betrayal, he knew exactly what had taken place. She knew... By the power in Heaven, she knew. 

"Usagi-" he said, but she interrupted. 

"I don't want to hear it! I know, okay? All this time... And I never knew... Mother never told me, you never told me... I trusted you." Her voice was so full of betrayal it wrenched Luke's heart as he watched the face of his daughter. 

She rose to her feet. "I need some time. Some rest, perhaps." She left the room without another word, leaving everyone speechless in her wake. 

Deep within the maze of the dark Shadow Academy, Zekk paced restlessly, his crimson-lined cape swirling behind him like a wave of darkened blood. His hair, just a shade lighter than black, was tied neatly at his neck. He wore the black leather uniform of the Dark Jedi, of the Second Imperium's Darkest Knight. 

He was supposed to have met with Brakiss this morning, but the Master of the Shadow Academy was nowhere to be seen. None of the stormtrooper guards had seen him, either. It wasn't like the normally prompt Dark Jedi to be late. 

Zekk was impatient. There was supposed to be some new mission for him, some new task for him to accomplish. He was straightening the silver clasp of his cape when he saw a young man with blonde hair in a dark violet uniform stride forward to greet him, Brakiss at his side. 

"Zekk." Brakiss said, in means of greeting. Zekk nodded, still watching the blonde stranger with curiosity. Every sense of the Force within him told him this was a dangerous, evil creature, best to be avoided if at all possible. Never before had he felt such complete _evil _emanating from a man. It was unnerving. 

"To a private chamber, please, Zekk." Brakiss instructed, motioning for his trainee to follow both him and the violet-clad man. 

Once alone, out of the earshot of the stormtroopers and others who might choose to eavesdrop, Brakiss explained the reasons for his tardiness and the arrival of the stranger. 

"Jedite, sir, this is the young student Her Majesty inquired of. His name is Zekk, pride of the Shadow Academy, our Darkest Knight." He indicated Zekk, who felt a small glow of pleasure at Brakiss' praise. The stranger, who Zekk now knew as Jedite, nodded at Brakiss' words and appraised the young Jedi with cold, cruel eyes. 

"So you are Zekk. I am Jedite, one of the four great generals to the Queen of all Darkness, Her Majesty Beryl. 

She has sent for you, the Darkest Knight of the Second Imperium, to be part of her plans of conquest, a high honor to be bestowed upon a _human_." Jedite sneered the word, and Zekk felt a chill run up his spine. 

"And what role might that be, sir?" asked Zekk. 

"It is not my place to say. That will be up to Queen Beryl to disclose at her leisure. You are to come with me." He indicated a vicious-looking black swirling portal, which had appeared suddenly. 

"Who is Queen Beryl?" Zekk's curiosity had gotten the better of him. Brakiss shot him a glare of reproof for his insolence and ignorance. 

"Her Majesty Queen Beryl is the supreme ruler of her Dark Empire. Even the Emperor Palpatine obeys her wishes. For the past millennium, the _royal_," he spat the word, "family of Queen Selenity of the Moon Kingdom has kept her imprisoned in the Dark Negaverse. Watch your tongue," added Brakiss, "for if I might be merciful in my dealing with your impudence, I can assure you Her Majesty will not be. You are as easily dispensable to the Queen as a stormtrooper is to me."

Zekk swallowed a throatful of anxiety, as he watched Brakiss and the general Jedite. What was it he was sensing from Brakiss? Envy? Was the Master of the Shadow Academy jealous of _him_?

"You are to come with me." Jedite repeated, gesturing toward the portal. Zekk pushed aside his nervousness as he watched one of Beryl's supreme warriors. Chin held high, confidence flowing over him, he strode past both Brakiss and Jedite and stepped through. Jedite followed, closing the portal as soon as they had both entered. Brakiss was left alone. 

Usagi sat alone on her bed, staring out the window. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, her long golden hair released from its imprisonment in odangos, covered her. Her face was red and blotchy, tear-streaked from crying. The star locket lay open at the foot of the blanket, closed, reflecting the internal lights off of its golden case. 

Serena turned her gaze to it, and a look of sheer determination crossed her features. She stood, straightened her orange academy jumpsuit, and began going through her belongings.

She tore open her knapsack, shoved in a few days' worth of clothing, as well as other necessary items. She lovingly looked at the star locket, before clasping its chain behind her neck. Lastly, she grabbed her lightsaber, the weapon of a Jedi, the pride of months of work, and placed it inside the knapsack with her other possessions.

She stared at the brooch which held the Moon Prism, and a snarl curled her pink-stained lips. She laid it on the bed, beside her royal tiara and her white princess's gown, and left through the window. 

The night had just begun to fall when Usagi left. On the horizon, she could see the yellowish glow of the gas giant Yavin, along with glittering stars. Somewhere, out there among those glistening white orbs, Endymion was waiting for her. 

"I'm coming, love. Nothing else binds me, nothing can keep me away." She whispered, her melodious voice lost in the chorus of the jungle. 

In the hangar bay, Peckhum was gearing for a trip to another planet in a section far away from Yavin 4. New supplies needed to be brought to the Jedi academy, and he was the only one for the job. Giant steel drums were set against the stone wall of the Great Temple, drums that were to be used for carrying back his cargo. 

With a heave, Peckhum loaded the last of the metal drums onto the _Lightening Rod_, and took his seat at the helm. The tiny freighter powered up its engines, and hurtled into space. 

*****

Hey ya'll! Thanks for reading this far. Next part coming up soon, so stay tuned!!!!!!

Lady Pluto

Oh, if anyone has any suggestions (please?!) or comments (pretty please?!) feel free to leave a review (pretty please with a cherry on top?!) or e-mail me at [silver_usako316@hotmail.com][1] (super pretty please with a cherry and whipped cream and nuts... And I'm making myself hungry. Better stop. Where's the nearest Baskin Robbins?) 

   [1]: mailto:silver_usako316@hotmail.com



	4. Three

Hey ya'll! Thanx for reading thus far. Sorry about the short chapter last time, but I was having trouble uploading a large section so I had to break it apart. (As in this chapter and the last one, and the next, because I didn't really write in chapters, but in one large continuation. Oh, well.) Anyways, enough chatter and on to the next part. Tally ho! 

Disclaimer: Do you _really_ think I own this? You have absolutely _got _to be kidding me, but keep up the flattery. J Everything related to SM belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and Pioneer, whereas all the SW related stuff belongs to Lucasfilm Ltd and Berkley Jam Books. 

Now on with the show!!!!!!!!

****

Jaina was extremely worried about her friend. She had not seen Usagi since that first class. Jacen, Lowie, and Tenel Ka shared her concern, and none knew what had become of their princess friend. 

"Something was going on between her and Uncle Luke." Jaina said to her friends and twin brother. They nodded. 

"This is a fact," agreed Tenel Ka. Lowie shrugged. 

"Remember the day she first came? Remember how weird Uncle Luke, Dad, and Chewie acted around her?" Jacen pointed out. The others nodded.

"And what's this about Master Skywalker knowing something he wouldn't tell her?" Tenel Ka asked her friends. None seemed to know. 

Jaina stood up. "I'm really worried. We should go check on her." The others agreed, and they followed Jaina as she made her way to the dormitory which she and Usagi shared. 

The others stayed behind as Jaina crossed the threshold of the little room. She walked over to her roommate's bed, glanced at everything lying there, and gave a gasp of surprise. Lowie, Jacen, and Tenel Ka rushed to her, and were as stunned as she had been. 

On the bed, neatly laid out, sat Usagi's royal tiara, white princess's gown, the brooch containing the Moon Prism, and a note:

Dear my friends, 

In a few weeks my life will no longer be my own. I have known that this day would come, felt it deep within me. I am tired of having my life led for me, and I am taking my destiny in my own hands, living as I would choose. By the time you read this note I will be gone, too far gone for you to find me, and I pray that you shan't try. Simply know that I have, at long last, the chance to be happy. Happiness, that feeling that most take for granted. I have known it truly here, for one of the rare times in my life. I thank you all for that. 

Jaina, Jacen. There is a secret, a secret which lies deep within your family ties. Know that it is not for the secret, which I shall impart to you, that I have left. I have planned this for weeks, months, years...

The above-mentioned secret is thus; a long time ago, after the Empire had been abolished by the Rebel Alliance and Luke Skywalker, and before the founding of the grand Jedi Academy, Luke wandered. And during this time of wandering, he met my mother, Selene. 

Their romance was short-lived, but passionate enough. 

Jaina gasped, beginning to understand the full scheme. She stared wordlessly at Tenel Ka as the warrior girl too began to guess the truth. 

Yet they were not to be together. My grandfather, much like Apollo today, did not believe in the freedom of neither woman nor princess. She was to marry the before-mentioned Apollo, and after she had run away, a war was begun. A great, terrible war that resulted in heavy casualties on both sides, so horrible an act of devastation that my mother was forced out of hiding and made to marry. 

So you see, to be quite frank, the King of the Moon Kingdom and High King of the Silver Millennium, Apollo, is not my father. However, Jaina, Jacen, your uncle, Luke Skywalker, is. This is what I remembered today during Tionne's class. I suppose I learned a bit more than I wanted. Ha ha. 

Thank you for being the best friends I could have ever wished for. The first and only true friends I have ever known. 

Usagi Tsukino

"She ran away..." Jaina said in disbelief. Lowie emitted a growl-woof which Em-Teedee translated. 

"Master Lowbacca wishes to know how it is possible to run away from a moon in the middle of space with no ship."

Jacen was still recovering from the shock. 

"That makes her our cousin, doesn't it, Jaina?" 

Jaina nodded mutely. She couldn't think, couldn't speak. Wherever could Usagi have gone? Alone, in space, with no one and nowhere to go... Wandering aimlessly...

Lowie roared. 

"Of course, Master Lowbacca! We must find Mistress Usagi!"

Tenel Ka still had not spoken. She appeared deep in thought as Jacen turned to her. 

"What are you thinking, Tenel Ka?" 

"Well, friend Jacen," she said, her brow furrowed in concentration, "Perhaps it would be best if we left her alone and respected her wishes."

"We can't do that!" Jacen exclaimed, as Lowie and Jaina nodded vehemently. 

"Listen. I can understand somewhat what our friend Usagi is feeling. I too am a princess. She doesn't want to be forced into a life of marriage that she has no power in, and I don't blame her."

"But still! Ordinarily I would say you're right, but we're talking about Usagi! She had never been away from the Moon Kingdom before she came here. She has no _idea_ how to survive on her own." Jaina said forcefully. "She trusts people far too easily. You know as well as I do that as pure and innocent as she is what can happen!" In an outburst of fury Jaina slammed her fist against the wooden chest. 

"I suppose there is only one thing left to do, then." Tenel Ka said. "Tell Master Skywalker."

"Tell me what, Tenel Ka?" Luke Skywalker stood framed in the doorway, watching his nephew and niece and their friends. A heavy tension settled between them. 

"That Usagi is gone." Jaina said at last. Luke's eyes widened. He had never expected something this severe from the normally happy girl. "_Woman_," Luke corrected himself, "she is twenty years old now. Soon to be twenty-one."

"What do you mean, gone?" He inquired of his young Jedi students. 

"She left. All she left behind was this note, and everything that had to do with being the Moon Princess." Jacen indicated the items on the bed. 

"Why would she do that?" Luke asked of his students, though deep inside him, he already knew. 

"The secret that you wouldn't tell her," Jaina said softly. "That and her twenty-first birthday."

Luke shivered slightly. "So you know then?" He asked. They all nodded. He sighed. 

"We must find her. You know how she is."

Lowie growled an inquiry at Jaina. She nodded.

"Exactly, Lowie. What are we waiting for?"

They left the room, the Jedi Master and his four students, to the hangar bay, where the state-of-the-art ship _Shadow Chaser_ was kept. 

"Your mother might not like this," Luke warned his nephew and niece. 

"She'll get over it," Jaina said firmly. "We're coming."

"Yes, but going where? Where could she have gone?" Luke asked, both to himself and his students. 

At that moment, Tionne, Jedi instructor and assistant to Master Skywalker, strode into the hangar bay. Mother-of-pearl eyes shone from elven features as she quickly assessed the scene. 

"Master Skywalker," she addressed the Jedi Master, "There is a ship outside. It is here to see both you and the girl Usagi."

Jaina glanced at Jacen, turning pale. How could Uncle Luke explain to these people that their crown princess was nowhere to be found? Her friends shared her doubts and concerns, but Luke was to handle the situation smoothly. 

With a nod of thanks to Tionne, he bade the Jedi trainees to stay in the hangar bay as he attended to the Silver Millennial Alliance's messenger. 

He stepped into the sunlight, its glow reflecting off of his golden hair. The small craft had just settled into the dust when he approached. 

The hatch opened with a small _whoosh_ of air, and what Luke Skywalker saw made his heart stop. Walking off the entrance ramp with all the grace and dignity of the felines, her silver hair shimmering around her like a strange, glistening halo, was Selene Tsukino. Queen Selenity. 

She was mildly dressed, for a queen. A white linen shirt, khaki pants. Her long hair was done in a style almost exactly like Usagi's; the two odangos perched atop her shining head like meatballs in spaghetti. 

"Hello, Luke." She said softly, watching the father of her child through guarded eyes; eyes that held sorrow and love, guilt and pain, and joy. 

Still completely in a state of shock, Luke Skywalker stared at the woman he had loved, the woman who had left only to return twenty-one years later. Even now, she was as beautiful as ever she had been. That golden crescent moon still shone on her brow, exactly as it did on Usagi's. Usagi...

The thought of the girl who had run away awakened afresh within his dumbstruck brain. Usagi, his blood daughter, had run away from him... 

"Selene." Luke nodded a greeting at the Queen of the Silver Millennium. "We must talk." He motioned toward the Great Temple, "Please, come with me." With a silent, partly guarded nod, Selene followed the Jedi Master into his academy. 

It was hot, unbearably so inside that steel drum. Oh, how she longed to be free of the confinement, but Usagi was not yet sure that Peckhum's freighter was far enough away for her to safely escape its concealment. 

It had been a tight fit, but her tiny frame was just small enough to squeeze inside the container. None of the other trainees could have accomplished it. Jacen couldn't comment on her lack of height when it came to this, could he? 

"Jacen can't comment on anything I do," Serena thought with a pang of sadness. "Nor Jaina, nor Lowie, nor Tenel Ka. I am alone in space." 

The interior of the steel drum was cramped, and Usagi could barely move. Just as she felt she might be about ready to leave her confinement, she felt the beginnings of a sneeze. 

"Oh, no!" she thought frantically. "I can't sneeze now!" 

But the itching within her nose continued to intensify, until- "Achoo!" Usagi sneezed. The noise reverberated inside the drum, pounding inside Usagi's skull. Luckily, for her anyway, Peckhum took no notice at the helm above the cargo bay, for a chime had just sounded to signify his dinner.

Using her opportunity, Usagi tuned all her senses with the Force to Peckhum, so that he shan't notice any noise she might create in exiting her confines. Quietly, she slid the top of the container off, allowing herself enough room to exit. She then carefully replaced it, and hid in the shadows, far from where Peckhum could see if he decided to enter the cargo hold, and away from the steel drums he would use. 

She had timed her exit perfectly, for no sooner was she hidden in the shadows then she felt the landing gear of the _Lightening Rod_ engage and prepare for descent. 

Not more than ten minutes later, Usagi heard the distinct sound of voices and shuffling feet. With a slight _whoosh _of air, the hatch of the cargo hold opened and old Peckhum strode inside, an alien trader at his side. 

"So you want the materials in these, then?" The trader said to Peckhum in a bored tone. The old pilot nodded. Yes, this was what Master Skywalker had ordered. 

"Very well then. I shall have my men do it," the alien gestured outside the vessel, "Now what do you say to a drink?"

After Peckhum and the trader had left, Usagi snuck silently out of the cargo hold. She had no idea where she was, but she felt a feeling of sublime elation as she reveled in her cleverness. She had left the Jedi academy right under Luke's nose! No early marriage, no more secrets, simply freedom! That feeling of serenity that she had longed for was hers to claim, and once she could claim a ship, she could be off to Earth, to Endymion! 

She was so blissfully happy, so full of innocent joy, she broke into song. The one thing she had ever really been good at. It didn't matter the other things she had failed at, she could sing! She could revel in the ecstasy of music and harmony, could feel the melody pulsing through her as surely as she felt the power and strength of the Force. 

Watching her was a man, dark-skinned with a face so gnarled and windswept it appeared as if he had lived through a thousand battles. A small smile broke across his features as he heard her beautiful melody as it issued from her delicately painted pink lips. He wanted this woman, this woman with the voice of liquid silver, rhythmic and gentle and powerful at the same time, with a voice that he felt burn inside of him like a flame. Here, on Rhilek Prime, there were many restaurants and taverns clambering for beautiful creatures with beautiful voices. If he could claim this one, he knew his tavern would be the most frequently visited on the tiny planet.He decided to approach her. 

"Excuse me, miss." He said, as the girl turned blue eyes to him, deep, gorgeous eyes that were as blue as the oceans. The fullest, deepest, most beautiful and expressive eyes he had ever seen, and he had seen many. 

"Yes?"_Who was this man, _wondered Usagi. _What did he want?_

"My name is Shralei. You happen to have a very beautiful voice. I was wondering if perhaps you would like to join my tavern, singing like that." 

Usagi felt delight at his words, wondering if it was possible that someone found her singing wonderful. She needed money, and someone was willing to allow her to sing for it! Singing, her love, her passion, and she could get paid!

"Of course. I would love to." 

Shralei smiled. This was excellent. 

"Can you start tonight?"

Usagi's heart beat wildly inside her chest. "Definitely."

"Great. Please follow me." Shralei led her off to an upper-class tavern on the other side of the city. The streets were cleaner here: much less garbage strewn around and graffiti on the walls. He led her to a fine-looking place and took her around to the back entrance. 

Inside, many different aliens of many different species, including humans, watched her with interest. She shivered as one man, obviously drunk, surveyed her body with a look of perverse pleasure. Noting her discomfiture, Shralei called for security and had the glutton removed. 

Smiling in apology, he opened a door to one of the back rooms. It was decorated in shades of cream and blue, sheer metallic curtains draped over a window which shown to the outside. A large mahogany closet stood at one end of the room, a pale blue couch in the center, and a glass and black cast-iron vanity against the wall. 

"This will be your dressing room, Miss..." Shralei said. 

"Kathryn. Kathryn Coatlicue." Usagi said, thinking quickly. She didn't want anyone to know her true name, at least not yet. 

"Well, Kathryn, our last entertainer was a few sizes bigger than you, but her wardrobe is still inside the closet. There might be a few things in there which could fit you, until we have everything resized. You will go on in an hour, so I suggest you make yourself sharp." He pointed at a reptilian-looking alien at the door with shimmering, iridescent violet scales and a snout of sharp fangs. 

"Maylar will show you the way to the stage, once you are through preparing. Good day, Miss Coatlicue." Without another word, Shralei turned and left, closing the door behind him. 

When he was gone, Usagi let out a breath of sheer excitement. With a few leap-like bounds, she had crossed the breadth of the dressing room to the closet. With dismay, she noticed that most of the gorgeous gowns were twice her size. But in the back, barely touched, hung a lone dress of sunset gold, shining spaghetti-strapped silk, which fitted her perfectly and reached just above her knee. 

A glance in the vanity's mirror told her that her hair was a mess. Dirt was smudged along her barely tanned cheeks, and a cut ran down her lip. And yet, all kinds of cosmetics were assorted on top of the clear glass, foundations and shadows and lipsticks. 

With the gold of the dress, Usagi picked a deep, garnet-red, metallic rouge for her lips, and cleaned her face. Her extremely long hair, which she knew she would cut as soon as dawn rose the next day, she brought up to its' usual odangos. The only remnant of her life as a princess, the glimmering moonstone necklace given her by her mother on her sixteenth birthday, hung peacefully within the hollow of her throat. She had just finished straightening an errant strand of her blonde hair when a knock resounded on her door. Taking a deep, calming breath, Usagi laced the ankle straps of her sandals and followed the reptilian Maylar out into the main room of the tavern, full of the restlessness and noise of any club. 

Before long, she stood alone on the stage, the microphone to her ruby-stained lips and the music playing softly in the background. She breathed deeply, taking in the skeptical looks of the spectators, and opened her mouth. 

She had written the song herself, felt the words deep within her as she had sat, lonely on one of those long nights at the academy, thinking of Endymion. Before long, she would have the money to raise a ship and venture to Earth, but for now...

_"Deep in my soul, love so strong, it takes control._

_Now, we both know... The secret's bared, the feelings show."_

The music came to an intensity, resounding in the ears of the listeners, rapt with attention at the wondrous voice of the tiny, beautiful woman before them as she sang the words with a passion that was rarely seen.

_"Driven far apart... I'll make a wish, on a shooting star. _

_And there will come a day, somewhere far away, in your arms I'll stay... My only love."_

_ _

Every face in the tavern was fixed to hers, including the waiters' and waitresses', the bartender's, whose mug he was supposedly filling was pouring into the floor unnoticed, and even Shralei's himself. 

_ _

_"Even though you're gone, love will still live on... _

_The feeling is so strong, My only love. _

_ _

_"There will come a day, somewhere far away, in your arms I'll stay, my only love. _

_ _

_"You've reached the deepest part, of the secret in my heart... I've known it from the start, my only love."_

_ _

Usagi's voice reverberated melodiously throughout the halls. "_My only love."_

The people watching stood so quickly it astounded the young princess, bursting into applause so loud it rattled the dishes and shook the tables. Usagi smiled with pleasure.

"They like me!" she thought happily. "They really like me!"

"Yes, my dear, they really like you." Shralei said with a small amount of amusement. He had been right about the audience's reactions to Kathryn's voice. She _was_ as good as he had believed. 

Luke was still astonished at the woman who stood resurrected before him. Selene... His one great love... Their child, alone in the vast expanse of space...

Selene smiled softly at the man who had been her lover. The man who was the father of her child. The only man she had ever given her heart to. 

"Where is Usagi, Luke?" Her voice was as soft as Luke remembered it, as even and every word as carefully thought out as ever they had been. He smiled ruefully. Usagi had none of that carefully planned organization: she was as wild, impulsive, and carefree as a young lioness. 

Selene knew instinctively something was wrong. Perhaps it was in the way Luke's ice-blue eyes carefully avoided her darker ones, or the feeling of foreboding that seeped into the chamber of the temple. 

"Something's wrong Luke. What is it?" Her voice now held a tone of urgency. Luke sighed. This would be difficult. 

Still avoiding her gaze, Luke said, "Today, during class, Usagi learned of the truth, of you and me, and Apollo."

Selene clasped a hand to her mouth, the color receding quickly from her ivory skin. Luke reached out, clasped her hand in his, and said quietly, "but that's not the worst of it. I let her go to her dorm, figuring she needed some time, and some rest. However, it appears as if she takes after her mother in more ways than one." He smiled bitterly, "She has run away. I only just found out, and I have no idea where to look."

A horrified expression crept across Selene's face. 

"Usagi... Oh, my little Usako..." Luke bit his lip until it bled, watching the pain running through Selene. Oh, it hurt. It hurt to watch her hurt, to watch her feel pain he couldn't protect her from. 

"We have to find her." Selene's voice turned distant and steely, with all the control and calm of a trained queen. Luke nodded. 

"Yes. I was about to leave on a search with a few of my best students, and Usagi's closest friends, when you arrived."

"I'm coming." Selene said rigidly.

"Of course." He gestured to the door. "The _Shadow Chaser_ is waiting."

Selene stood and walked swiftly past the Jedi Master, in the direction he had indicated. With a sigh, he grabbed a jacket from the back of a chair and followed the keeper of the Ginzuishou. 

The chill of the Negaverse was piercing. It infiltrated the very core of Zekk's being and seeped inside his soul. A soul that should have been blackened by the training of the Dark Jedi, but a soul that was instead troubled and disturbed. He knew that one day he would have to face his old friends Jaina and Jacen once and for all, but at the same time he prayed that that time was far in the future. 

Jedite watched the young Jedi scornfully. This little human _kid _was to be a great part in the Queen's plans of conquest, but not him. No, not he, not one of her grand generals who had spent his entire lifetime in service to her every whim, but this streetwise brat who happened to possess the abilities of the Jedi. 

"Jedite!" The roar resounded throughout Beryl's Dark palace. Even well-trained soldiers trembled slightly at the sound of Her Dark power. It was a terrifying power, a power that only the Moon Kingdom's Ginzuishou could defeat. A power that was captured at the moment by a weak queen. Selenity would fall to Beryl, Jedite knew, and the Dark forces of the Negaforce would consume the world of love and light in the Universe. This, Jedite knew. 

  
"Yes, my Queen." Said Jedite, bowing low to the violet-clad woman with the fiery red hair. She smiled coldly at him over the top of her crystal ball, the crystal that could see all the workings of her minions, and sometimes the world above. 

"Did you bring him as I ordered, Jedite?" Beryl's voice was silky smooth, dripping with evil menace. 

"Yes, my Queen." He indicated Zekk, who bowed before Beryl, his scarlet-lined cape swirling behind him. 

"Ahh, Zekk." She said, eyeing the young Jedi with a faint smile. "I sent for you because you will be important to me. There is a girl, a girl you should know, a good friend of your old friend Jaina. Usagi."

Zekk stiffened at the mention of Jaina. He hadn't seen her in a long, long time. And they used to be so close... 

"Usagi is the daughter of Queen Selenity, the only one who binds my wonderful Dark power within this Negaverse with her damn Moon Crystal, that blasted Ginzuishou.

"Recently, Usagi learned of a secret to her past and has run away. She is vulnerable, and weak. I am trusting you to use your wit and charm to succumb her to you. Seduce her, play with her if you like. _But bring her to me_." Beryl's voice was as cold and harsh as ever. 

"Yes, my Queen." Zekk bowed as low as Jedite had done, before turning and leaving through the portal. He was to find this Usagi and bring her to Beryl to be part of the Queen's plans of conquest. And he knew it was of his utmost duty to free Beryl from her confines. It was why he had been chosen. Chosen to serve the Darkest power known. To serve the Negaforce. 

Endymion was as restless as ever. Lately he had had this feeling of dread, of unspeakable evil. He had felt it in the very air, scenting it on the wind, feeling it deep inside himself. His gaze lingered on a picture standing on a table across the room. It was a picture of him and Usagi, during the long-ago month when they had been together. He smiled. Usagi... He sorely missed his Usa-chan. She would be twenty now, he reasoned, almost twenty-one. Old enough for marriage...

But would she? Would her parents let her, if she so chose? Is it what he wanted? 

"Yes," he thought, "It is what I want. It is what I have wanted all this time, since that first day in the garden. It is what is meant to be."

And yet that feeling of dread persisted. That feeling of dark evil, swarming over Elysian. Coming ever closer, smothering the populace. And with his thoughts of Usagi, part of the mysterious foreboding was revealed. 

"Kami-sama! Usako is in danger! I must find her!" Endymion said loudly. Helios, who was nearby, heard his prince's shout and ran over. 

"What is it, Prince?" His pale blue eyes were shadowed in anxiety as he studied Endymion. 

"Usagi is in danger, and so is the rest of the Universe." 

Helios looked at him disbelievingly. 

"Don't ask me how I know, Helios, but I do. I can feel it. We must find some way to call the Inner Senshi and search for Usagi."

Helios nodded understanding. "Yes, Prince. I too have felt the Dark power creeping over our lands, coming ever closer to the Princess. We must protect her."

"Exactly my thoughts, Helios. Where are the Senshi?"

Helios indicated a subspace arch, which, when activated, allowed instant access to any planet in the Silver Millennium, to any other subspace arch. It appeared to be only a white wicker garden arch, but had an eerie blue light emanating from it. The device itself had been a wondrous invention of Pluto's, who was tired of the Senshi's constant need for teleport and the mass use of shuttles for visiting other cities in the realm. 

"They should be at Queen Selenity's palace."

"Well then, Helios, what are we waiting for?" 

Endymion strode confidently through the subspace arch, formed the telepathic link, and was transported instantly to the subspace arch in Usagi's own private lily garden, Helios following behind. 

No sooner had he stepped out of the arch, than was Endymion surrounded by four very angry-looking women in very short skirts. The Senshi. 

"Who are you to enter Princess Serenity's private grounds?" The one nearest to him said in a voice of bossy authority. Her hair was raven-black, hanging loosely to the top of her thighs. She wore a red and violet fuku, and glared at him through violet eyes. 

"I am Endymion, Prince of Earth. Your princess is in grave danger."

"What? Usagi's in trouble?" Another Senshi said with concern. She had blonde hair as long as the first's, with pale blue eyes, and wore an orange, blue, and yellow fuku. 

"He could be a spy." The third Senshi said harshly. She glared suspiciously at him with bright green eyes. Her shining brown hair was pulled high into a ponytail, and her fuku was in shades of pink and green. 

"I assure you, Senshi, I am no spy. I am who I say I am, and I am here to help Usagi." Endymion was beginning to grow annoyed with the young women before him.

"I believe him." The last of the Senshi watched him with kind, deep blue eyes. Her hair was, unlike the others, cut short and held a bluish tint. Her fuku, too, was in shades of blue. 

"How do you know, Mercury?" The raven-haired Senshi said in a frustrated manner to her blue-clad teammate. 

"Look at his eyes. He sincerely wants to help Usa-chan. Besides, why would a spy use a subspace arch to get into Usako's private gardens? The telepathic link will not work if you do not know where you are going. Usa-chan must have brought him here before. Did she?" Mercury asked, turning to Endymion. He nodded. 

"Once, a long time ago."

The blonde turned warm eyes and a gentle smile to him then. 

"So then Usa-chan must have trusted you. And therefore we shall trust you."

"I'm not so sure that's wise, Venus." The Senshi with the red and violet fuku snapped. 

"Mind your mouth, Mars! With both the Queen and Princess gone, I am in command." The blonde glared at the raven-haired Senshi, who Endymion and Helios now knew as Mars. 

"My question is what type of danger the Princess might be in. Can you tell me that, Endymion-san?" The brunette asked. Endymion shook his head. 

"The specific danger surrounding Usagi I do not know. All I have is a feeling, a feeling which is telling me that she is in serious trouble."

"You mean like a psychic sense? Mars has a psychic sense. Have you felt anything, Mars?" 

"Actually, Jupiter, I have. Nothing specific, but a feeling of dread. Of foreboding and Darkness. Of intense evil."

"That's exactly it. And it is centered around Usagi. I'm sure of it!" There was a slight flush coming to Endymion's face as he was overwhelmed by worry for Usagi. All the Senshi looked at him, the same feelings of concern and anxiety mirrored on their faces. 

"We have to find the Princess." Venus said, as pale as a sheet. 

"But she left to that academy... And Queen Selenity went to her! The Queen must be in danger as well..." Mars added. 

"Let's get Uranus and Neptune. If we're to save the Queen and Princess, we can't do it alone. Saturn can manage the Outer Realm, and Pluto the Inner Realm. Apollo will be quite capable of handling the Moon Kingdom alone." Jupiter almost spat the name of her King. Apparently she didn't hold him in high regard. 

"Of course. I can contact them using my communicator." Mercury pulled out a compact, flipped open the lid, punched a few buttons, and began speaking. 

"Uranus? Neptune? Can you teleport here right away? The Queen and the Princess are in danger... We must help them!" Endymion was astonished to see the faces of two other Senshi in the compact where a mirror would normally be. 

A few moments later, two new Senshi had arrived through the subspace arch. They were both tall, but one towered. She had light blonde hair cut very short and fierce eyes. Her navy and yellow fuku looked menacing. 

Her partner was gentler-looking. Smaller, with shoulder-length wavy bluish hair, and deep, understanding blue eyes, her fuku was in shades of dark blue and aqua. 

"Uranus! Neptune! This is Endymion, Prince of Earth," Venus said, indicating him, "Endymion, this is Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune of the Outer Realm."

Endymion bowed his head slightly in respect. 

"Pleasure to meet you. However, there are more pressing matters at hand..." he trailed. 

"Of course," Uranus said sharply. She was almost as tall as he, and towered over Helios' slight frame. 

"We must protect our Queen and our Princess." Neptune said softly, in a voice a smooth and melodious as flowing water. 

"Then you have a difficult task ahead of you." The Senshi, Endymion, and Helios turned to look at two other newcomers. One was tall, with green-tinted hair that hung to her knees, and mysterious-looking blue eyes. Her fuku was in shades of green and black, and she carried an intimidating staff with a ruby-red jewel at it's top, cradled by a heart. The other was tiny, with ebony hair that came straight to her chin and dark violet eyes that appeared as if they saw and knew everything at once. She wore a violet and black fuku, and carried an ominous-looking scythe. 

"Pluto..." Mars said in a voice barely above a whisper. 

"Saturn..." said Neptune in a voice of reverence and awe. 

"Yes. The princess and the Queen are both in great danger. The wicked Queen of the Negaverse, Beryl, has broken free of her seal. Even now her knights of the Dark Side have infiltrated our peaceful Universe, spreading havoc, death, and destruction." Pluto said. 

Saturn spoke, in a voice quiet but full of knowledge, authority, and power. "It is the power of the Queen's Ginzuishou which has locked her Darkness within the Negaverse for centuries. During this time, she has meditated on little else but revenge. She is intensely powerful, and will try to bring the Queen, the Princess, and our Alliance to ruin. We must stop her and protect our future."

"Is it that bad, then, Saturn?" 

"Most certainly, Uranus. Now go, all of you, find our Princess and our Queen. Save our future. The fate of the Universe rests within you."

The Senshi joined hands, and Mercury motioned for Endymion and Helios to do the same. Endymion held the hand of Uranus, and Helios of Mercury. Then the Senshi began to chant:

"Sailor Power- Teleport!" They said as one. A glowing light erupted from each woman, and in seconds they had all vanished. 

Usagi had been working for Shralei's tavern for a few weeks now. It seemed as if her singing was extremely popular; or at least that was what Shralei said. 

She examined herself in the mirror, running her slender fingers through her now short golden blonde hair, which had been cut to her chin in a Cleopatra-type bob. Usagi loved it. It made her look older, more mature, less innocent and kittenish. That and her now garnet-toned lips. She had never been much of one for cosmetics on the moon, and had had no need of them at her father's academy, but now she adored them. There wasn't a day gone by that she didn't have garnet-red lips. Dark, glittery, a deep and luscious jewel-toned red...

She puckered to the mirror. Yes, her lips looked great. Deep and mysterious, like a golden temptress...

What would her father say if he saw her now? 

"Oh, yes," she laughed, "How un-ladylike. How disappointing for a _princess_. But then, I'm not truly a princess now, am I?

"That and Apollo isn't my father. Master Skywalker is." She sighed. "I suppose it wasn't fair to him to get so angry and leave. None of them have any idea where I've gone, how I'm doing, or what. How extremely selfish of me."

She checked her chronometer. "I've another show in about a half hour. Perhaps after then I can arrange a small amount of leave and Shralei could let me visit them, one last time, to properly say goodbye."

Her heart weighed heavily with guilt, Usagi, or Kathryn as she was now called, walked across her dressing room to her wardrobe. All the clothes had been refitted to cling perfectly to her petite features, and she loved them all. 

Tonight, she knew she would wear one of her favorites. It was a deep, glittering garnet-red that matched her best lipstick. It hung from a halter at her neck, following the curves of her body until it flared slightly at her ankles. The back was deep-cut to contrast the high neckline of the halter, and she slipped her delicate-looking feet into strapped heels. 

Maylar was waiting outside for her, and together the two of them walked to the back entrance of the stage. Usagi had become good friends with the kind-hearted reptilian woman, and it had become a tradition of sorts to walk together before she was to perform. As she stepped behind the stage, she paused, listening to the crowd outside. 

"It's a loud one tonight." She said quietly. Maylar nodded. 

"Yes, it is. But you should have no trouble wooing them over, my dear. You look positively breathtaking in that dress."

"Thanks, Maylar.If you wouldn't mind, can you please find Shralei? I would really like to speak with him after the performance." Usagi said. 

"Of course, my dear. Now go knock 'em dead!" 

"That's the plan, Maylar," Usagi laughed, "That's the plan."

Shralei was tending the bar when the newcomers strode in. Classy, they were. The type to buy the expensive drinks. He would serve them personally.

Three women, two men, and a Wookiee. You didn't often get Wookiees on Rhilek Prime. This must be a traveling party, eager to stop for a drink and a rest before continuing on some intergalactic journey. Oh, well. It wasn't any of his business, so long as they paid well.

"How may I help you?" he said to the first man, who appeared to be their leader. The man appraised him coolly with light blue eyes. 

"A table, please. A few drinks, as well. We've had a long journey." 

Shralei almost snickered. He had been right, after all. 

"This way."Once they were all seated, he took drink and meal orders. He was right again. They were the classy type. 

Luke watched the bartender convey some secret amusement, then smile proudly as a young woman ascended the stage. A woman with piercingly familiar ocean-blue eyes...

"Blaster bolts! Uncle Luke, it's Usagi!" Jacen gasped. 

****

Am I mean or what? Classic cliffhanger... Anyway, the song "My Only Love," came from one of the early DIC episodes, and I liked it, so I included it. Well, as always, let me know what you think and definitely review, review, REVIEW! Or I just might be mean and not let you know how it ends... * sticks out tongue in spite*Feel free (and very much encouraged) to e-mail me at [silver_usako316@hotmail.com][1] with questions, comments, suggestions, or just to say hey. I love mail! 

Lady Pluto

   [1]: mailto:silver_usako316@hotmail.com



	5. Four

Here it is, the action-packed chapter four

Here it is, the action-packed chapter four. (At least I think it's four. I've lost count) JThank you all for your continuing interest in my bizarre story. Reviews are heavenly!!! THANK YOU ALL who bothered to make me feel loved and appreciated, and by chance a half-decent author. THANK YOU! I cannot say that enough. THANK YOU! Now then, onward! All for one and one for all!

Disclaimer: You should know by now that these wondrous characters are not my own. They belong to Naoko Takeuchi, Pioneer, Lucasfilm Ltd, and Berkley Jam Books.I have only five dollars, which I was planning to use in order to rent the next installment of the Sailor Stars series. So please don't sue! I absolutely _have_ to know what happens!!!!!

****

With the grace of a panther, Usagi moved to the microphone and raised it to her garnet-stained lips. 

"Good evening, everyone. I trust you are all enjoying yourselves?" The excited roar reaching her ears caused Usagi to laugh with amusement. 

"I'll take that as a yes. I want to thank you all for taking the time to be here. It's doubtless that Shralei and my paycheck appreciate it," she said, still laughing good-naturedly. 

"Well," she said, as the band behind her began to play,

"I've heard this song before, and I like it. I hope you can all appreciate it as much as I enjoy singing it."

"_When I'm lost...in the rain...In your eyes I know I'll find the light, to light my way..."_

_ _

"Wow," Jaina murmured, "I never knew she could sing like that."

Selene nodded softly, a twinge of sadness and guilt on her features. 

"Yes, it has always been a talent for her. One I should have let her indulge more in, along with other things..."

Luke gently laid a hand on Selene's. The twins exchanged a glance; they now knew the history between the two. 

"You can't change the past, Selene, but you _can_ work toward a better future."

Selenity sighed. "You're right."

_"When I'm scared... Losing ground... When my world is going crazy, you can turn it all around. And when I'm down you're there pushing me to the top. You're always there giving me all you've got!"_ Usagi's voice resounded through the tavern and within the now silent and awed audience's ears, reaching a fever and passion with the words. 

Luke, Selene, and the young Jedi Knights sat there, staring open-mouthed, Tenel Ka the only exception. She watched Usagi as she sang, only a faint smile on her lips. Even Em-Teedee had not taken his electronic gaze off of the garnet-clad woman. 

"_For a shield, from the storm...For a friend, for a love to keep me safe and warm...I turn to you. For the strength, to be strong... For the will to carry on, for everything you do, for everything that's true...I turn to you." _

As she scanned the faces rapt with attention, Usagi noticed a few shockingly familiar ones. Her mother, her father, her friends were here! She met Luke's eyes, and he gave her a small smile, part apology, part silent support. And she returned it with a warm grin. 

"_When I lose the will to win... I just reach for you and I can reach the sky again! I can do... anything! 'Cuz your love is so amazing... 'Cuz your love inspires me... And when I need a friend, you're always on my side...Giving me faith, taking me through the night!"_

_ _

_Usagi's voice resounded clearly throughout the tavern, forcefully and powerfully hitting each note and mesmerizing all who could listen. _

"_For a shield, from the storm...For a friend, For a love to keep me safe and warm, I turn to you. For the strength, to be strong, for the will to carry on... _

_ _

_"For everything you do, for everything that's true, I turn to you._

_ _

_"For the arms to be my shelter through all the rain; For truth that will never change; for someone to lean on! For a heart I can rely on through anything...For the one I can run to! _

_ _

_"For a shield from the storm, for a friend, for a love to keep me safe and warm, I turn to you. For the strength to be strong, for the will to carry on, For everything you do, for everything that's true, _

_ _

_"For everything you do, for everything that's true, I turn to you." Her voice hit that last note with a sensitivity and passion as it reverberated throughout the halls, settling itself in the hearts and souls of every creature, human and alien, in the tavern. _

Then suddenly, every being in that hall stood and gave Usagi a standing ovation. Smiling shyly, she did a small bow and walked off through the back entrance. She did a loop-around and came over to her family's and friends' table and sat down exhaustedly. Her legs ached from the effort of her singing, and she was breathing hard. Without preamble, she nodded apology and grabbed her mother's water and drank thirstily.

"Thirsty?" Jacen asked with raised eyebrow. 

Usagi felt the flush as it crept up her neck and burned her ears. She suddenly became very interested in an insect crawling around the floor as she felt the eyes of all she had left behind watching her closely. 

"Why, Usagi?" Selene asked, in a voice that sounded heartbroken. 

Usagi looked up, the fire back in her eye. 

"You well know why, Mother," she said, her voice tinged with ferocity. 

"I'm sorry I lied to you all these years, I should have told you the truth..." Selene was using all her strength to hold back the tears. 

"We all make mistakes, Mother," Usagi said, and her voice was firm and gentle, understanding and forgiving. 

"She has absorbed more from her Jedi training besides resourcefulness," Luke thought. 

"And, in reality, that wasn't what bothered me. What bothered me, and still does to an extent, was how you knew, _you knew how Apollo treated me, and you did nothing. You were too wrapped up in your own misery to stop and notice anyone else's." When Luke watched his daughter speak of the bitterness of her past, he saw that same determined, fiery look in her features she had worn when she first came to his academy. _

"That is not true. That is completely, totally unfair." Selene growled at her daughter. "I was _teaching you. Teaching you to be a queen."_

"By ignoring me?! By letting that man who _masqueraded _as my father humiliate and belittle me? I don't believe it!" Luke turned his gaze away at his daughter's outburst of pent-up fury. 

"He _loved_ you! He was doing the same as I, trying to prepare you for your destiny as Queen!" Selene's voice was as loud and angry as Usagi's. 

"_Loved_ me? Hah! As if he even _knew_ the meaning of the word! In his eyes, I was nothing but the mistake that never should have happened. And as he so _often _informed me, that even if I absolutely _had_ to be born, I should have been a boy because only a prince can properly rule a kingdom!"

"He never said such a thing!"

"Look at yourself! Look how you defend him! And I thought you hated him because he took you away from the life, the _man_ you would have chosen for your future! You never stop to consider what he might have done to _me, _how much he _hated _me, because even now you're too self-absorbed!"

The young Jedi Knights and Luke Skywalker were trying to look away and leave the pair to their discussion, but to little avail. Jaina noticed with a pang of her heart the tear that slid unbidden down her best friend's cheek as she faced her mother. 

"How dare you! I _love_ you, I only wanted to protect you! Why do you think I sent you to Luke's academy?"

"Protect me from what? What's the _real_ reason you never allowed me to go anywhere, the _real_ reason I was sixteen before I had the nerve to run away and see Earth?"

"Because," Selene said softly, as the tears poured down her cheeks, "I didn't want what happened to me to happen to you. You have a _duty_, Usagi. It's best you accept it early and come back with me, rather than face the hard choices I had to make."

"Too late, Mother. I ran away from the Jedi academy because I'm tired of having my life lived for me. I am a free person, and will make my own choices."

"But you are a _princess_, Usagi. You have a duty to uphold!"

"Let Mars or Venus be heir. They've trained for it as well as I, and they won't fight you."

"But Usagi, it's in your blood. It's your birthright."

"So is the Force. And from now on I am making my own choices. I will not be a pawn any longer. You, nor Apollo, nor anyone else will so much as decide how I wear my hair, and much less who and when I marry."

"But Usagi..."

"Usagi..." Luke's voice was low, "Think this over. Don't make any hasty decisions."

"Don't any of you understand?! I _have_ thought this through! I have thought it through for eight years! I am in _love_, Mother!"

Selene's jaw dropped, and she gazed at Luke with a despairing look. 

"You used to know what that meant. If you truly love me, and want me to be happy, let me be free. I've been a caged animal far too long. I'll never be happy trapped inside that marble prison you call a palace, and I never have been. 

"Please, Mother," Usagi said, turning her ocean-blue eyes to Selene's, all her anger abated, "I'm not a child anymore. You used to trust me, now I ask that you trust me once more. Trust me to make the right choices, or at least try. And, perhaps, in time, what you want and what I want will become the same."

"Oh, Usagi." Selene reached up and held her daughter firmly while the others looked on. 

"Hey, wanna hear a joke?" Jacen asked. He waggled his eyebrows comically, hopefully. Lowie groaned. Jaina sighed. Luke gazed at him hopelessly. 

Jacen raised his arms in defense. "Hey! They aren't all _that_ bad. "What did the deranged stormtrooper say to his leader after a battle with the New Republic?" He paused, then said, "I'm all cracked up! Get it? All cracked up?" Silence permeated the atmosphere. 

"You people are hopeless when it comes to humor," he grumbled. 

"Hey," Usagi said, breaking the silence, "I'm going to change. This dress is killing me."

"I just noticed," Jaina said, an expression of slight puzzlement on her features, "You've cut your hair."

Usagi smiled, her garnet-red lips glittering in the artificial light. 

"Yeah," said Jacen, "It's a lot shorter than it used to be."

"This is a fact," stated Tenel Ka. Lowie emitted a gruff woof. "Master Lowbacca wishes to say that although it is most definitely unusual, Mistress Usagi's haircut is indeed pleasing." Em-Teedee translated. 

Usagi did a small twirl for those seated at the table. She flashed her mother and friends a mischievous grin. 

"I told you I was going to have it cut off," she said to Jaina. 

"When you said you were gonna chop it off, you really meant it," her friend replied. 

"Oh, I definitely meant it. And I also meant it when I said I was going to change, but that was fifteen minutes ago," Usagi laughed. "I'll be right back." She turned and left her mother and the Jedi behind as she walked out of the tavern's main room, the deep red dress swirling around her as she moved. 

Once she had changed the dress for a turquoise shirt and black pants, Usagi glanced at where her family and friends were gathered, watching the next performer; a droid who was juggling tankards of ale while emitting a high-pitched whine which Usagi supposed to be song. The crowd revolted. Food flew, alcoholic beverages spewed, the tavern became chaos. Rowdy and noisy as any common space bar. This Shralei would not tolerate. His was a classier institution. He would not allow for such childish behavior. 

She strode to where she had left Luke and the others, but was intercepted by a young man with long dark hair tied neatly at his neck and glittering emerald eyes. 

"Hello," Usagi said cheerfully. 

"I saw your performance," Zekk said, his voice low. Usagi watched him uncomfortably, her senses acutely aware of the warnings she felt through the Force. There was definitely something wrong here; she would have to get away as quickly as possible. 

"You're not going anywhere, _princess_." Zekk sneered. Usagi felt the waistband of her pants, mentally cursing herself for being so stupid as to forget her lightsaber. 

"Did you forget your lightsaber, _princess_? Don't worry, I brought mine," Zekk's voice was lingering and dangerous in her ear. Suddenly she felt something cold and metallic against her midriff. Zekk's lightsaber. 

"Don't move, or I turn it on. You and I both know what will happen then," he snarled. "Now, walk with me." He roughly grabbed her arm and led her outside, to where a small lake glittered in the distance. A portal, swirling and sickeningly black opened for the Dark Jedi and his hostage. Still holding her roughly, he pushed her through and stepped in himself. Beryl would be pleased. 

Meanwhile, at the table, all the Jedi jerked to attention. They had all felt it; that surge of Dark power running throughout the tavern. It was unmistakable; a Dark Jedi had been here. As one they stood, senses tuned to the Force to sense from which the evil had come. Selene, too, stood, glancing between them with a look of utmost worry on her features. 

"What's the matter, Luke?" she asked, urgency in her voice. 

"I'm not sure," the Jedi Master replied, "but there was a Dark presence here. Of that I am certain."

"Queen Selenity!" Selene whirled around to see the Senshi, Endymion, and Helios running up to her. 

"Kami-sama! What are you all doing here? How on Earth did you find me?!" Selene asked incredulously.

"Where is the princess?" Uranus asked harshly. 

"We're too late..." Neptune moaned. 

"What do you mean, too late?" Luke asked fiercely. "What is wrong with Usagi?"

"Who are you?" Mars said snootily. 

"I am Luke Skywalker. I could ask the same of you,"

Selene intervened. "These are the Senshi, Luke. Sublime warriors of the Milky Way. Why are you searching for my daughter?" Selene asked Venus. 

"The princess is in grave danger. Beryl, Dark and despicable Queen of the Negaverse has escaped confinement. She intends to exact her revenge on the Moon Kingdom, beginning with Usa-chan." Venus said solemnly. 

"_Beryl_ has escaped?!" Selene cupped a hand to her mouth. 

"Who is Beryl?" Luke asked his old lover. 

"Beryl is the Queen of all Darkness. She presides over the Negaverse, where the Darkness originated. Not only does she command the Dark Jedi, including the old Emperor Palpatine, but she also has an army of immensely powerful warriors bred to her service within the Negaverse's realm." Selene finished, her face paler than Luke had ever seen it. 

"If she is after Usagi...Luke, we must save our daughter!" He nodded. The Senshi, who had watched the entire scene, exchanged confused glances. 

"Senshi," she said to her soldiers, "you know what we must do." They nodded. From within the folds of her khaki pants, Selene withdrew the Imperium Silver Crystal, held snugly within the crescent of the Crescent Moon Wand. She gripped its smooth pink handle tightly as she said,

"Cosmic Moon Power!"At once, a mist of shimmering silver light erupted from the crystal, engulfing Selene to the spectators' awe. Her outfit changed in a burst of pink ribbons to the white gown of Queen Selenity. 

When it was complete, her feet gently touched the floor of Shralei's tavern once more and she opened her azure eyes to gaze around at the confused people surrounding her. 

"We must join together if we are to save my daughter. The power of the Ginzuishou will transport us to Beryl's realm. Grasp hands, everyone," The queen held her arms out to those surrounding her, and they all, Senshi, Jedi, and prince, clasped hands to form a giant circle. Selene concentrated deeply in the crystal, felt its mystical power, and they were transported to the bleak and dark world of the Negaverse.

Usagi landed with a hard thud on the icy floor of Beryl's throne room. The evil woman smiled cruelly at the satisfying _snap_ of bone as the girl's left ankle turned in an angle it had never been meant to do. 

"So glad you could join us, princess." Beryl's tone was silky. Her hands moved continuously over a dark ball of crystal, her long red hair flowing behind her very tight violet dress. 

"Who are you?" Usagi asked, as her entire body tingled with the warnings of the Force. This was truly a Dark place. 

"Where am I?"

"Me?" Beryl laughed. Beside her, Jedite and Zekk smiled coldly at the form of the moon princess. 

"Zekk, where are our manners? Help the princess to her feet," ordered Beryl. Zekk walked calmly forward, and jerked Usagi upright. She bit back an outcry as she was forced to stand upon her broken ankle. Beryl gave a malicious smile at the princess's obvious pain and discomfort. 

"I am Beryl, mighty Queen of all darkness! Welcome to my Negaverse, princess. Here soon, when your beloved mother comes to your rescue, I shall claim the Ginzuishou and reign as proper ruler of all the Universe!" 

"You're insane. My mother would never give you the Ginzuishou!" Usagi hissed, both in pain and in anger. But she pushed the anger aside. No, she could not afford to be angry. Anger led to the Dark side. That she could not allow. 

Instead, a wave of calm flowed through her, strengthening her with the power and cool clarity of the Force. She wished again that she had not been so foolish as to forget her weapon. 

Tendrils of crackling black energy issued from Beryl's claw-like fingers, and shot towards Usagi. Using the Force, she managed to avoid them, but fell helplessly back on her injured ankle. A grin of satisfaction turned the Dark Queen's lips as another jet of the dark power surged towards the White Moon Princess. 

Usagi felt it when Beryl's power hit her. Pain like she had never thought possible burned her entire body. She couldn't move, couldn't do anything but feel the pain. Her mind screamed in physical anguish, and it took all her strength to keep her mouth and voice from doing the same. 

"Does it hurt, White Moon Princess? Do you feel the pain?" Beryl whispered. Even through all her suffering, Usagi managed to look up at the Dark Queen with a look of pity in her eyes. 

"I pity you," she breathed. Her sapphire eyes locked unflinchingly into the Dark One's own. 

Beryl laughed. "You, who I shall kill myself, you pity me?" Her voice was full of condescending mockery.

"Poor little princess. Save your pity for yourself. You'll need it," she added menacingly. 

"Yes, I pity you. You, who have never known the joy of love or how wonderful it is to love someone." Usagi stood, shakily at first, but gradually stronger to face Beryl. The evil queen's face contorted with fury and hate as she gazed down at the figure of Usagi. 

In the doorway, the Senshi and the young Jedi Knights along with Luke Skywalker, Endymion, and Helios appeared. Each of the Jedi had lightsabers drawn, prepared to face Beryl and rescue their friend. 

"Usagi!" Jacen called. The golden-haired princess turned to her cousin as he threw something for her to catch. Catch it she did, running her fingers along its smooth, black surface made of polished onyx. Engraved at its hilt were the symbols for the planets of her solar system, link to her heritage as its princess. Her lightsaber. 

With a soft hum she ignited it, finding strength within its energy blade, as iridescent in color as the moonstone which powered it. Rainbow flecks of color ran through the blade as she brought it down in front of her, prepared to confront her greatest enemy. 

"My, my, now this is an interesting turn of events. Zekk," Beryl said to the Dark Jedi at her side, "please take care of these young Jedi upstarts.

"Ah, Queen Selenity." Beryl said with a look of Dark satisfaction. "At last we meet." With a mere wave of her hand, crystals of ice rose from the floor of her cavern to surround and capture each of the Senshi. 

"Uranus World Shaking!"

"Neptune Deep Submerge!"

"Mars flame ignite!"

"Venus crescent beam smash!"

"Jupiter thunder crash!"

"Mercury bubbles blast!"

But the Senshi's attacks were no match for the Dark Queen's Negaforce. Each was enveloped within the icy shroud of the crystals.

"Senshi! NO!!!" Usagi yelled. The look of horror in her sapphire eyes was mirrored in her mother's.

"What have you done to them, fiend?!" Selene roared angrily. Beryl smiled smugly. 

"Oh, nothing unlike what I shall do to you," She waved her hand again, and the same crystals encased Queen Selenity. 

"Mother!!" Usagi cried, despair in her voice as her left ankle once again refused to hold her weight. She quickly turned off the lightsaber before she once more hit the icy floor. Seeing her on the ground, Beryl no longer paid any attention to the princess. Instead, her gaze was fastened on her dark Jedi. Seizing her opportunity, Usagi scrambled to where her mother had fallen and snatched up quickly the Ginzuishou before Beryl noticed. She fell again, this time not bothering to bite back the pain shooting through her broken ankle. 

"Usako!" Endymion yelled, as he raced past the Negaverse guards and Zekk to reach his beloved. 

"Mamo-chan!" Usagi breathed, her voice choking with the pain. Gently, Endymion scooped the princess into his arms, holding her snugly. 

"Don't worry, Usako. We'll find a way out of this, I'm sure of it." He attempted a reassuring smile, which did not help her in the least.

Meanwhile, Zekk was facing off against his old friends once and for all. Momentarily stunned when Selene had been captured, Luke dived in front of his students in an effort to protect them from the Dark powers the other Jedi wielded. 

"Master Skywalker," Zekk whispered, his throat tight with physical exertion, "It shall be a pleasure eliminating you for my Queen, once and for all."

"Don't bet on it yet, Zekk," The Jedi Master said as his emerald blade locked and sizzled against Zekk's scarlet. 

"So you are that blasted Jedi Master who foiled _dear_ old Palpatine?" Beryl said, her voice smooth and silky with victory. "The father to the pretty little princess who set the trap for dear Queen Selenity?"

Luke glanced between the crystal-encased form of Selene and the evil queen Beryl, hatred blazing in his ice-blue eyes. 

"Hate me for what I did to your love? Don't worry, you can join her." Beryl was brimming with evil pleasure as she sent the crystal to encase Luke, who dodged it using the Force and his lightsaber. A type of bored power was displayed on the wicked woman's features as the crystals continued to surround the Jedi Master until he was encased within them and could fight no more, consciousness lost in stasis. 

"Uncle Luke!" Jaina and Jacen yelled simultaneously. 

"Master Skywalker!" Tenel Ka shouted. 

Lowbacca roared in outrage. 

"Yes Master Lowbacca! This is horrendous!" Em-Teedee cried. 

"Father..." Usagi whispered, before the pain and suffering Beryl had inflicted upon her took over and she drooped, unconscious, on Endymion's shoulder. 

"I can't believe you, Zekk," Jaina said, her tone heartbroken. 

"Believe it, Jaina. I told you on Kashyyyk that my allegiance was to the Second Imperium and the Darkness. I almost killed you during that raid, but I decided to spare you on account of the friendship we once had. Now, I will not do the same." He brought his scarlet lightsaber blade in front of him, its glow eerily lighting his features. "Don't try for yourlightsaber, Jaina," he warned, twitching the blade side to side. 

"And I told you on that day on Kashyyyk; I will not raise a weapon against you, Zekk." Jaina stared at him coolly, her fingers never straying to the black handle of her lightsaber clipped to her belt. "And I still don't believe that you would kill me, either," she added, her voice carrying much more courage than she felt. 

"Don't test my loyalties, Jaina. You've lost; Queen Selenity and her pathetic Senshi have already been captured, and so has the _great_ Master Skywalker." He sneered. 

"We have to go! We can fight later!" Helios yelled at Jaina, who was still locked in a deadly standstill with the Dark Jedi Zekk. 

"Come on! Let's get out of here while we still can!" yelled Endymion, Usagi still cradled in his arms. 

Reluctantly, the other young Jedi Knights turned and followed the prince and the keeper of dreams out of a twisting pathway as it led back to the safety of the Universe, away from the dark and treacherous realm of the Negaverse, Beryl's condescending laughter in their ears. 

"Run away, little ones! You've lost! The Keeper of the Ginzuishou is at my mercy. You shall all die in due time, starting with your pretty little princess." Beryl snarled, her voice laced with the happiness of victory. 

Once back within the realm of the New Republic, the young Jedi Knights and their guests came to rest once more at the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4. They were all resting, licking their wounds and preparing for the next attack of Beryl's despicable Negaverse. 

A few hours within the bacta tank had healed all of Usagi's physical injuries. The mental ones, however, left deeper scars. 

"It's all my fault." She said one day, as they were all seated together. Tears were threatening to overflow her sapphire eyes as she faced her friends. 

"No its not, Usagi." Jaina said kindly, "Beryl had been planning this for centuries. You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"If I hadn't run away..." Usagi sobbed. With an arm, Endymion pulled her into him to let her head rest on his chest. 

"You did what you thought was right. No one can blame you that," he said, his tone comforting. 

"Assigning blame will get us nowhere." Han Solo and his wife Leia had joined the small band of battered Jedi. Together they were working as how to free those trapped within Beryl's icy realm. 

"Yes," said Leia, as she watched the forms of her children and their friends. 

Suddenly, Usagi sat straight up, breaking free of Endymion's embrace and looked at them all with realization in her eyes. 

"What is it, Usako?" Jaina asked. 

"The day I first came here, all those years ago, I had a vision. I had just touched the walls of the temple and the ancient Massassi carvings, when I saw a flash of a woman being manhandled by someone. I didn't know it at first, but that woman was Mother." Usagi finished. 

"Wow. Really?" asked Jacen. 

"Yes. I am positive of it."

"Well, if you could get a vision of the future from one of those old carvings, do you suppose you get a larger one from an ancient untouched temple?" Han asked his niece. 

"Possibly, but I don't know what good it'll do. Not with them still trapped down there."

"Vision or no vision, we need to figure out a plan. We can't simply barge into the Negaverse and expect to free Luke and the others," Leia said firmly. 

"Yeah, last time we got our butts kicked." Jacen said quietly. 

"I'm not game for any butt-kicking this time," Han said, and flashed a lopsided grin at his son. 

"I have what Beryl is after," said Usagi softly. Every face gathered turned to hers, appraising her and wondering what she could possibly be protecting. 

"What is it, Usagi?" asked Leia kindly. 

Usagi sighed. "The Ginzuishou. I managed to grab it when my mother dropped it, before she..."

"You have the Ginzuishou? Is that what Selene was protecting?" Leia said, her eyes wide. 

"Yes." Usagi reached inside a pocket of her academy jumpsuit and pulled out a giant silver crystal. She showed it to Leia. 

"This is the Ginzuishou. This is the power that Beryl would kill to obtain. This is the power she _must not_ be allowed to have, for surely it would mean the end for the Universe as we know it." 

"May I see it?" Leia said, in her voice a tone of awe. Usagi nodded and deposited it inside the former Princess of Alderaan's hand. Leia turned it over, inspecting it, feeling the hum of life within its silver casing. 

"This is the Ginzuishou..." she said, still marveling at the crystal she held. 

"Yes," Usagi said, her voice strong. "With this, and our teamwork, Beryl will not stand a chance. I will not rest until those I love are safe once again."

The people gathered exchanged glances, surprised by the conviction and strength the young princess was exhibiting. Surely she didn't mean for them to simply return to the depths of the Negaverse without any further plan?

"The longer we wait, the less chance they are still alive. We must act now, while the element of surprise is still in our grasp. It will not be long before Beryl realizes that she did not capture the Ginzuishou when she captured my mother." She gave them each a fiery glare that strongly reminded Leia of her twin. 

"All right, Usagi. We'll go. But do you have any idea how we can get there?" Han said, as he assessed the girl in front of him. 

"Yes. The same way my mother got you there; I shall access the Ginzuishou." 

"Are you sure you can do that?" Helios asked. 

  
"Yes. I am of the royal family of the Moon Kingdom. Now join hands," she instructed, "as we leave once more for the Negaverse." 

Every person there, amid nervous glances and several quick Jedi relaxation techniques, carefully joined hands as Serena lifted the Ginzuishou high over her head. 

"Cosmic Moon Power," she said softly, every fiber of her being in harmony with the crystal, and the Force. She felt it sing through her, these two different sources of power, and she no longer felt any qualms about who she was. She was here to protect her loved ones, that was her destiny. Taking in a deep breath, she opened her eyes as the light of the crystal engulfed them all and they were transported to Beryl's realm. 

It was like stepping out of a dream, the way the young Jedi and Han and Leia felt when the light of the crystal disappeared and they were safe on the icy black floor of one of the Negaverse's caverns. 

Usagi opened her eyes again, as she gently laid the crystal back inside her pocket. All the others were watching her, as if waiting for instruction. But she was unsure. How could she make decisions for them, decisions that could mean life or death? 

Luckily, for her anyway, Han rightly interpreted her hesitation, as he took charge. The rest of the Jedi Knights did not mind the leadership of the great General of the New Republic. 

"Come on. Usagi," he addressed the princess, "where is Beryl's central chamber?"

"Just ahead of you, Han Solo," said a sneering, familiar voice from the shadows. In a flash of scarlet, Zekk leapt from one of the top rocks of the cavern to face the young Jedi and their allies. 

"Zekk." Tenel Ka said, an intense dislike evident in her features. 

"You remember me. How touching," he sneered. With a soft hum he ignited his scarlet lightsaber as he prepared to defend Beryl and her realm from the intruders. 

One by one, all the young Jedi Knights with the exception of Jaina and Usagi lit their lightsabers and prepared to do battle with the dark-haired Jedi of the Shadow Academy. Jaina pointedly refused to ignite her weapon, and Usagi was concentrating on finding a way past him and into Beryl's inner chambers. 

"Mercury made this look so easy," she grumbled as she punched buttons on the small handheld computer that belonged to the kind blue-haired Senshi of water and ice. 

"Oh, but Jaina," Zekk said, his voice teasing, "Why will you not fight me? Would you rather run? Are you afraid of me, Jaina?" He aimed his lightsaber in her direction, only to have it swiftly turned aside by a lightening blow from Lowie's bronze-coloured blade. 

"Oh? Are you to fight me, Wookiee?" he laughed, as he deftly turned aside every forceful blow from Lowie. 

"Aha! Got it," Usagi whispered to herself, as she stored the computer inside another pocket of her jumpsuit. Looking up, she noticed the fight ensuing between the lanky ginger-furred Wookiee and Zekk completely for the first time. 

"Stop!" she commanded, her voice full of authority and ringing with power. 

The combatants stopped, and turned their gazes to the tiny young woman who was bold enough to make upon them an order. 

"It's the pretty little princess. Pitiful little princess Usagi." Zekk's voice was cold, tinged with evil malice. 

As if in response to his taunts, Usagi pulled from her jumpsuit once more the Ginzuishou. 

"Usagi, no! Please," Jaina said, a sob catching in her throat. Usagi turned her ocean-blue eyes to Jaina's brown, a look of understanding and empathy on her features, but Usagi the young Jedi Knight was gone, the Usagi who was Jaina's best friend was gone, replaced by the steely princess who knew she had a duty. 

She raised the Ginzuishou high above her head, feeling the power surging through her. Her head flipped backward, her golden hair streaming behind her; with her eyes closed she looked quite ethereal. 

"Zekk..." Jaina whispered. 

_"Please, Ginzuishou," _Princess Serenity thought, her life entwined within the crystal's, _"Jaina cares for him so. Take the strength from me, help him to be healed, for her sake."_

As if in response to the wishes of its princess, a bright white light erupted from within the crystal. It shone throughout the dark cavern, and all who saw it became entranced in awe and wonder. The light settled itself around Zekk, who, bewildered, felt his body leave the ground to float in the air. His crimson-lined cape, the gift of Brakiss for being the Shadow Academy's best and Darkest Knight, was shredded and disappeared into nothingness. He writhed for a moment, before the light set him back upon the rocky floor. 

He was on his knees as Jaina rushed to him, her lightsaber lying forgotten on the stone slab. She checked him for wounds, and he grasped her hand in his, as a tear ran down his face. 

"I'm so sorry, Jaina..." he said, guilt evident all over him. 

Princess Serenity, too, floated softly to the floor, the light leaving the Ginzuishou as it deposited itself, not within her pocket, but within the brooch of the Moon Prism on her chest. She opened her eyes and stared at it for a moment, disbelieving, before she turned her gaze to where her friends were gathered around the newly healed Zekk. 

"What did you do?" Leia asked her niece, still shocked by what she had seen. 

"Nothing he did not want. I only helped him do what he had wanted to do all along, but found he could not." said Princess Serenity. 

"Thank you, Princess." Zekk said, standing and bowing his head in her direction. She smiled regally, as if she knew the secrets of the cosmos. 

"You're quite welcome, Zekk," she said, and then turned to the others, "We must hurry. I have found the entrance to Beryl's main audience chamber, but there is no telling what she has done to Mother and the others." 

They each nodded, pulling out respective lightsabers. Jacen tossed his sister's to her, as he walked up to where she stood with Zekk. 

"Come on, sis." Jaina gave a laugh that was part sob, part cough as she said, "Of course. What are we waiting for?"

Han looked down the chamber, where Usagi was already running with Lowbacca and Tenel Ka close behind. With a wave of his hand, he indicated the others to follow them, which they did, pelting down the cavernous tunnels dug deep within the icy rock. 

"Princess Serena! You managed to find my lair, all by yourself," Beryl laughed. "Do you really think you will be able to free your parents and the Senshi?" 

Usagi walked forward, exuding confidence and power. The young Jedi Knights were behind her, lightsabers ignited, prepared to defend both her and each other no matter the cost. 

"Oh, and you managed to convince the Jedi brats to come back!" Beryl laughed even harder. 

"Don't underestimate us, Beryl. We are a formidable team," Jaina said, her voice cold and hard with dislike.

"Zekk..." said Beryl silkily. "You didn't manage to eliminate these pests last time they annoyed me, so now I'm counting on you to finish the job." 

Zekk shook his head, his face set in an angry scowl of determination. 

"No," he spat, "I will never harm any of these people. Not at your bidding, nor anyone else's."

"What's this? Traitor!" Beryl snapped. "You'll pay for your treachery! Kalcite!" she howled into the darkness. The young Jedi stood their ground, as an older man with dark brown hair and tanned skin walked calmly out of the shadows. 

The only one to falter, the only one to become unsure, was Princess Serenity, for the man who was emerging, Kalcite, was none other than Apollo, who had tormented her childhood years. 

"Yes, girl, it is me. Pity your mother loved you, that she would be worried enough over your miserable being to risk her life for yours. How does it feel, girl, knowing that you have caused your mother's death, and the destruction of the Universe!" He cried in elation, as he pointed at the still-crystallized form of Selene as she gripped tightly the Crescent Moon Wand. "She died with the Ginzuishou! Now there is not a power one to defeat the realm of the mighty Negaforce! Queen Beryl shall rightfully rule over your pathetic lands!"

"Apollo..." Serenity growled, her entire body shaking with anger, rage, and betrayal. 

"Don't listen to him, Usako! It isn't your fault!" Jaina cried. 

"You can defeat him, and her both!" Tenel Ka yelled to her friend. 

"You have the Ginzuishou. You have the power," Leia said, "use it."

"She has the Ginzuishou?!" Beryl cried in outrage. 

"This pathetic runt of a girl is controlling the greatest known power in the Universe?! As if she could possibly defeat me!"

Beryl launched a torrent of black Negaforce energy at Serenity, who deflected it with the rainbow blade of her lightsaber, all the colors of the planets of the Silver Millennium intertwined. The energy ricocheted off of her energy blade and hit the crystals encasing Selene and Luke, shattering them to pieces. The queen and her Jedi fell to the floor, and awakened from the stasis. Offering his arm to Selene, Luke pulled them both to their feet. 

"Just who do you think you are?!!" Beryl roared. 

"Me?" Usagi said lightly, all fear and doubt gone from her mind. Luke and Selene joined the others as they watched, open-mouthed, the power flowing through their daughter. 

"I am Usagi Tsukino, princess of the Silver Millennium and the Moon Kingdom, and also Jedi Knight-in-training on Yavin 4. I am the daughter of two worlds, magical and material, joined together through the power of love. And it is this power of love which shall defeat you and your evil, once and for all."

"Big words, little girl," Apollo snarled, "but can you back them up?" He lunged at Usagi, a blade of Dark Negaforce energy in his hand. 

"Usagi, look out!" Jaina cried, as both Luke and Zekk leapt forward, at the same time, back to back fighting off the general. 

"Nice to see us fighting on the same side, Zekk," Luke said, as he deflected a blow from Apollo's energy. 

"You bet, Master Skywalker." Zekk said as he slashed at Apollo's blade, defending Serenity as she prepared to use the power locked deep within her. 

"Let's see if you can control that power, little princess," Beryl hissed, as she sent a huge discharge of crackling black energy from the Negaforce at the girl. 

She repelled the attack once more using her lightsaber, aiming it at the crystals encasing the Senshi. It ricocheted among the crystals, cracking them open and releasing their prisoners. 

Shakily, the Senshi stood and walked over to where their queen and the young Jedi Knights were fighting against different youma. 

"Mars Fireballs Charge!" Rings of fire erupted from Sailor Mars, surrounding one youma and annihilating it. 

"You bastard!" Selene said angrily at Apollo, as she saw him battling with Luke and Zekk. 

"Selene, get back!" Luke commanded, locked in a swordfight with Beryl's general. 

"How dare you rip apart my family!" She yelled, and grabbed one of the sharp Negaverse crystals from the icy floor and plunged it through Apollo's heart. As one, Luke and Zekk leapt back as the wicked general writhed in pain, and disappeared in a breeze of cherry blossoms. 

Selene was shaking, surprised at her own bravado. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Luke disengaged his lightsaber and walked over to her, his eyes trained on the form of his daughter, high above him, where she faced the Dark Queen of the Negaverse. 

"They have killed my warrior Kalcite! They shall pay," she roared at Serena. "Starting with the death of their princess!"This time, a surge of the Dark power charged at Serena, too much to deflect with her lightsaber. Instead, she pulled from her brooch the Ginzuishou, only to have it knocked from her hands at the deluge of Dark power. It swept over her, knocking her off the high rock to the ground below. 

"Usagi!!" Selene cried as she saw her daughter fall. 

"Usako!" Endymion yelled, bringing his sword back from the depths of a youma. Blaster fire ricocheted everywhere from Han's blaster as he shot at the youma which was attacking Leia. 

Lowie saw her fall first, and was the first to react. He leapt forward and caught her in his strong, hairy arms as she shivered with the dark power coursing through her body. The Ginzuishou fell through the air at Selene's feet and she grabbed it quickly and held it tightly. 

"You shall pay, little princess!" Beryl sent another flood of Nega-energy at Usagi, who, out of Lowie's arms, was unable to deflect it. Endymion saw the danger coming to his beloved, and leapt in front to protect her, only to have the energy hit him instead. 

"Endymion!" Serena cried as he was caught within the surge of Dark energy. With a mighty leap, she soared through the air and grasped his hand tightly. 

"Usagi!" Jaina screamed. 

"Usagi!" Luke yelled.

"Perfect!" roared Beryl as the princess and her prince both went limp, the life having left their bodies. 

"The pretty twit and her prince are dead! And I survive!" 

"I won't let it end like this!" Selene cried. 

"Not the princess..." Luna sobbed, for she had followed Usagi as she left the academy. 

"Usagi..." Jacen said, as the dead form of his friend and cousin floated peaceably in the air before him. 

Lowie let out a Wookiee roar of anger, and a howl of mourning as he saw his friend die. 

"Oh, Master Lowbacca, this is awful!" said the synthesized voice of Em-Teedee. "Poor Mistress Usagi!"

"Oh, darling, I won't let them take away your future!" She ripped the Ginzuishou from her Crescent Moon Wand and raised it above her. 

"Cosmic Moon Power!" she yelled, as the light surrounded the form of Beryl and her Negaverse guards and her generals, the dead forms of the Senshi who had died at the hands of Jedite, and lastly around Endymion and her beloved daughter. 

All at once, they disappeared, and Selene fell to the floor, utterly exhausted. 

"You did it!" Jacen cried. 

Luke went to her, and knelt down beside her. 

"No," she said, her voice weak, "I merely trapped them inside the crystal. Had I killed them I would have destroyed Serena and the others as well. They will be reborn, on Earth..." Her hand dropped limply to her side, and Luke knew she was dying. "Luke," she said, turning to him, "you missed watching our daughter grow up, and I will give you this chance. The others will be reborn on Earth, for the Moon Kingdom and the Silver Millennium are no more. But, if you would wish, Usagi can be raised with you..." Her voice weakened by the moment and her breathing grew heavy, labored. 

"Of course, Selene. Anything," he said, her hand grasped firmly within his. 

"But, there is one thing; you will know when the time comes for her to return to Earth to complete her destiny. Promise me you will take her," she whispered.

"Yes, Selene."

"Luna, Artemis," she addressed the cats at her feet, "I will send you to the future to be their guardians, and to reunite them should the Negaverse return. I am counting on you," she waved the arm holding the crystal, and the two cats were encased in time capsules, asleep. In a second, they had disappeared. The crystal shattered into individual crystals, each crystal guarding one of the precious souls to be reborn, and disappeared.

"Goodbye, Luke..."she whispered, as he bent and kissed her softly. As soon as he had arisen, he knew that she was dead. 

He stood, terribly shaken from what had happened that day, and gathered his students and family around him and led them out of the dark and dreary world of Beryl's. And as they left, Selene's body disappeared in a breeze of glitter and rose petals.

With one last look behind him, Luke turned and left Beryl's realm, never to return. 

* * **

Oh, by the way, the song Usagi sings is by Christina Aguilera. I needed something for her to sing that I could find the words to, and I was too lazy to create my own, so I stole my sister's c.d. This is definitely, and I repeat, DEFINITELY __NOT the end of this. It gets sweeter, lighter. I don't know. You can treat the rest as a sequel, or part of the same story. I'm adding it on as chapters. Well, as always, e-mails and reviews keep me running. So if you want more, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!!!!Thanx,

Lady Pluto


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